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CHILD  WELFARE  WORK 
IN  OREGON 

A  STUDY 

OF  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  AGENCIES  AND  INSTITUTIONS 

FOR  THE  CARE  OF  DEPENDENT,  DELINQUENT 

AND   DEFECTIVE  CHILDREN 

By  W.  H.  SLINGERLAND,  Ph.  D. 


^-«^«^ 


FOR  THE 

OREGON  CHILD  WELFARE  COMMISSION 


JULY  EIJLLFTIN 
EXTENSION  DIV  SIGN.  I'MYFKRITY  OF  ORF^ON 

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GIFT  or 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/childwelfareworkOOslinrich 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK 
IN  OREGON 


A  STUDY 

OF  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  AGENCIES  AND  INSTITUTIONS 

FOR  THE  CARE  OF  DEPENDENT,  DELINQUENT 

AND    DEFECTIVE    CHILDREN 


By  W.  H.  SLINGERLAND,  Ph.  D. 

Special  Agent  Department  of  Child-helping 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York 


FOR  THE 

OREGON  CHILD  WELFARE  COMMISSION 

Acting  as  a  Committee  Appointed  by  the 

State  Board  of  Control,  Under  Joint  Resolution  21  of  the 

Twenty-ninth  Legislative  Assembly 


JULY  BULLETIN 

EXTENSION  DIVISION.  UNIVERSITY  OF  OREGON 

1918 


Salem,  Oregon  : 

State  Printing  Department 

1918 


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V 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

To  the  Honorable  The  Oregon  State  Board  of  Control : 

The  Oregon  Child  Welfare  Commission  hereby  transmit  to 
your  honorable  body  the  following  report  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Slinger- 
land,  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  of  New  York,  on  child- 
welfare  conditions  and  problems  in  Oregon.  In  submitting 
this  report  and  study,  we  wish  not  only  to  bear  testimony  to 
the  broad  sympathy,  intelligence,  and  expert  thoroughness  of 
Dr.  Slingerland's  work,  but  to  record  our  conviction  that 
through  the  medium  of  his  report  the  Child  Welfare  Commis- 
sion, in  the  most  effective  manner  possible  is  meeting  both  the 
letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  mandate  put  upon  it  by  you  and 
through  you  by  the  Legislature  of  1917,  through  Senate  Reso- 
lution No.  21,  calling  for  an  exhaustive  inquiry  into  all  condi- 
tions, problems,  and  desirable  betterments  with  reference  to 
dependent,  delinquent,  and  defective  children  in  this  State. 

The  Russell  Sage  Foundation  has  a  special  department  for 
just  this  work ;  and  one  of  the  experts  in  this  department  is 
Dr.  Slingerland,  who  has  been  conducting  inquiries  and  gather- 
ing knowledge  and  experience  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  for  a 
series  of  years.  For  instance,  he  has  made  studies  and 
reported  on  child  conditions  in  our  neighbor-states  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Washington.  When,  therefore,  the  Foundation  con- 
sented to  lend  the  Oregon  Child  Welfare  Commission  Dr. 
Slingerland's  services,  and  when  the  Extension  Division  of  the 
University  of  Oregon,  recognizing  the  high  public  import  of  the 
researches  to  be  undertaken,  agreed  to  give  them  its  financial 
and  every  other  necessary  support,  we  eagerly  seized  upon 
these  means  of  handling  the  task  assigned  us. 

At  the  same  time,  we  have  not,  in  any  degree,  consciously 
neglected  or  evaded  the  responsibilities  placed  directly  upon 
ourselves.  The  members  of  the  Commission  have  individually 
and  as  a  group  visited  and  studied  institutions  and  conditions ; 

ill 


384849 


have  steadily  kept  in  close  touch  and  consultation  with  Dr. 
Slingerland ;  and  have  actively  been  copartners  in  every  essen- 
tial judgment  and  recommendation  that  have  been  admitted 
into  his  report.  We  therefore  accept  and  claim  fullest  joint 
responsibility,  at  the  same  time  that  we  commend  this  report, 
made  what  it  is  by  his  enlightened  and  constructive  vision, 
to  the  earnest  consideration  of  your  honorable  body,  of  the 
Legislature,  and  of  the  people  of  Oregon. 

Signed, 

George  Rebec, 
B.  W.  DeBusk, 
Edmund  S.  Conklin, 
Louise  C.  Ehrmann, 
Earl  Kilpatrick, 

Oregon  Child  Welfare  Commission. 

Eugene,  Oregon,  August  31,  1918. 


IV 


TOPICAL  OUTLINE 

Page 

LETTER   OF   TRANSMITTAL iii 

TOPICAL  OUTLINE v 

I 

STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS 1 

Important  Features  of  the  Study 2 

Child  Welfare  Work  Defined 2 

Working  Terms  Defined 2 

Statistical   Tables 6 

Section  A.     General 6 

Section  B.      Property 7 

Section  C.      Maintenance 7 

Section  D.      Averages 7 

Section  E.     Children   Served •  7 

Section  F.     Disposition  of  Children 7 

The  Institutions 7 

Study  and  Investigation 8 

Spirit  of  the  Study 9 

II 

THE   PUBLIC   INSTITUTIONS 10 

Home-placing  Department,  Juvenile  Court,  Portland 10 

Frazer  Home,  Juvenile  Court,  Portland 12 

Industrial  Farm  for  Boys,  (The  Ranch),  Juvenile  Court,  Portland..  13 

State  Training  School  for  Boys,  Salem 15 

State  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  Salem 19 

State  Institution  for  Feeble-Minded,  Salem 23 

Oregon  State  School  for  the  Deaf,  Salem..... 26 

Oregon  State  School  for  the  Blind,  Salem 28 

Staffs   of   Workers 30 

The  Statistical  Tables 30 

Table  I — Institutions  Under  Public  Management 32 

III 

THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 35 

St.  Mary's  Home  for  Boys,  Beaverton 35 

Levi  Anderson  Industrial  Home  for  Boys,  Beaverton 37 

Christie  Home  for  Orphan  Girls,  Oswego 37 

St.  Agnes'  Foundling  Asylum,  Parkplace 39 

House  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Portland 40 

Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society,  Portland 43 

Albertina  Kerr  Nursery  Home,  Portland 45 

Baby  Home,  The,  Portland 47 

Children's  Home,  The,  Portland 49 

Odd  Fellows'  Home  of  Oregon,  Portland 50 

Louise  Homef,  The,  Elwood  Station 51 

Florence  Crittenton  Refuge  Home,  Portland 53 

Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home,  Portland 54 

White  Shield  Home,  Portland 55 

Elizabeth  Cottage  for  Feeble-minded,  Elwood  Station 56 

The  Statistical  Tables 58 

Table  II — Institutions  Under  Private  Management 59 

v 


TOPICAL  OUTLINE— -Continued 

IV  Page 

SUMMARIES   AND   COMMENTS 65 

Table  III — Property  Values 65 

Table  IV — Maintenance  Expense 66 

Table  V — Numbers  and  Expense 66 

Table  VI — Religious   Affiliation 67 

Table  VII— Children  in  Care 68 

General  Points 68 

V 

CHILD-PLACING  IN    FAMILIES 70 

The  Original  Method 71 

Organizations  for  Child-placing 71 

Arguments  for  Child-placing 73 

Its  Normality 73 

Its  Economy 73 

Its  Availability 74 

Its  Universality 74 

Its  Ultimate  Necessity 75 

Types  of  Placement 75 

Boarding    Homes 75 

Free    Homes 76 

Working  Homes : 76 

Standard  Basis  for  Child-placing 77 

VI 

CHILD  CARE  IN  INSTITUTIONS 79 

Reception  of  Children 80 

Diagnosis  or  "Case  Study" : 80 

Study  of  the  Family 81 

Study  of  the  Child  Itself 81 

Legal  Reception 82 

Types  of  Housing 82 

Physical  Care  of  Wards 83 

Dietary    84 

Dining   Rooms 84 

Milk    Supply 84 

Bathing   Facilities 84 

Toilet   Articles 84 

Dormitories  85 

Care  of  Infants 85 

Clothing  85 

Cleanliness    85 

Occupational   Training 86 

Records    86 

VII 

SUPERVISION  OF  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK 87 

State    Supervision .' 87 

State  Supervisory  Boards 88 

Essentials  of  State  Supervision , 89 

Supervision  of  Children  and  Homes 90 

Essentials  of  Agency  Supervision 91 

Recommendations    91 

vi 


TOPICAL  OUTLINE— Concluded 

VIII  Page 

PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES 92 

Causes  Are  Social  Problems 92 

Preventive   Measures 93 

Housing  Improvement 93 

Parents'  Educational  Bureau 94 

Assistance  to  Dependent  Mothers 95 

Child  Labor  Bureau 97 

Catholic  Children's  Bureau 99 

Medical  Inspection  of  Schools 100 

Psychological    Examinations 101 

The  Juvenile  Courts 103 

Other  Organizations 106 

IX 

STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE 107 

State  Appropriations  to  Private  Institutions 107 

Home  for  State  Wards 110 

Juvenile  War  Dependents 113 

Tentative  State  Program 115 

Prospective  Legislation 117 

General  Child  Welfare  Law 117 

Children's  Code  Commission 117 

X 
A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL , 118 


Vll 


i'  *»  » 


I 

STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS 

BECAUSE  of  the  "constantly  increasing  number  of  de- 
pendents, delinquents,  incorrigible  and  subnormal  chil- 
dren," already  "a  burden  and  a  menace  to  the  State,"  the 
twenty-ninth  Legislative  Assembly  passed  a  joint  resolution 
empowering  the  Board  of  Control  to  appoint  a  Committee  of 
Five  for  the  study  of  the  child  welfare  situation  in  the  State 
of  Oregon.  The  Board  selected  as  this  Committee,  the  Oregon 
Child  Welfare  Commission,  which  consists  of  five  members  of 
the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Oregon,  chosen  because  of 
their  special  personal  fitness  and  training,  and  on  account  of 
their  deep  interest  in  these  matters. 

The  joint  resolution  made  it  the  duty  of  the  Commission 
'*to  visit  all  private  and  public  institutions  in  this  State  having 
charge  and  control  of  minors,  and  dependent,  delinquent,  in- 
corrigible and  subnormal  children."  The  Commission  was 
instructed  to  report  its  findings  to  the  Board  of  Control,  giving 
an  analysis  of  the  numbers  and  classes  of  inmates  found  in 
the  various  institutions,  and  of  the  causes  which  led  to  their 
being  in  need  of  such  care,  "to  the  end  that  these  causes  shall 
be  ascertained  and  classified  so  that  ameliorative  measures 
may  be  taken  by  the  next  Legislature." 

At  the  request  of  the  Commission,  whose  action  was  en- 
dorsed by  the  Board  of  Control,  the  writer  became  its  special 
agent  for  the  making  of  this  study,  and  has  spent  upon  it 
several  months  of  earnest  work.  Alone,  or  accompanied  by 
members  of  the  Commission,  he  has  visited  and  studied  the 
private  and  public  child-caring  agencies  and  institutions  of 
the  State.  The  pages  following  give  a  resume  of  the  facts 
and  conditions  ascertained  by  this  research.  Numerous  sug- 
gestions and  recommendations  are  made  in  connection  with  the 
descriptions  and  statistics  of  the  several  organizations,  and 
additional  general  discussions  of  matters  of  importance,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  called  for  by  the  words  or  spirit  of  the  joint 
resolution  ordering  the  study,  will  be  found  in  the  latter  part 
of  this  report. 


2      j;';  iJy2-^"GHII^D  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Important  Features  of  the  Study.  A  state-wide  study  of 
this  kind  emphasizes  many  features  of  great  importance,  among 
them  the  following: 

a.  The  number  and  types  of  the  child-caring  agencies  and  institutions 
operating  within  the  State,  and  the  financial  investment  they  represent. 

b.  The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  service  rendered  by  them. 

c.  The  mutual  relations  of  these  organizations,  and  the  extent  of  their 
helpful  cooperation. 

d.  The  possible  limitation  or  combination  of  their  functions;  a  matter 
intimately  related  to  the  adequacy  of  existing  institutions  to  meet  the 
present  and  future  needs  of  the  State. 

e.  The  known  and  estimated  causes  of  dependency,  delinquency  and 
defectiveness ;  the  possibility  of  their  control  or  abolition ;  and  the  measures 
to  be  taken  by  the  State  to  check  or  prevent  an  increase  in  the  numbers 
of  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children. 

f.  Adequate  supervision  under  proper  authority  of  all  public  and 
private  care  of  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children. 

g.  The  need  for  the  enactment  of  new  child  welfare  laws;  and  of  a 
more  or  less  formal  State  program  of  child  welfare  work  to  cover  the 
needs  of  the  next  decade  or  of  a  longer  period. 

At  the  outset  some  definition  and  explanation  of  terms, 

methods   and   purposes   is   necessary,   that  the  reader  may 

clearly  understand  and  rightly  estimate  what  is  presented. 

Child  Welfare  Work  Defined.  The  scope  of  child  welfare 
work,  when  the  term  is  used  in  a  broad  sense,  includes  the 
home,  the  schools,  the  churches,  all  sorts  of  institutions,  and 
society  at  large.  A  full  study  of  this  comprehensive  field  evi- 
dently was  not  contemplated  in  the  action  of  the  Legislature. 
As  used  in  this  study  of  child  welfare  work  in  the  State  of 
Oregon,  and  as  commonly  used  by  the  social  workers  of  the 
country,  the  term  child  welfare  work  has  a  much  narrower 
signification,  which  relates  it  definitely  to  philanthropic  activi- 
ties. This  technical  meaning  limits  its  direct  application  to  two 
related,  yet  measurably  distinct,  forms  of  social  service. 

1.  Preventive  measures  to  protect  normal  children  and  save 
them  from  entering  the  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective 
classes. 

2.  Remedial  work  for  children  who  are  needy,  unfortunate, 
or  abnormal  in  body,  mind,  or  character,  whose  welfare  is 
sought  by  the  child-caring  agencies  and  institutions. 

Working  Terms  Defined.  As  an  aid  to  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  report  to  follow,  attention  is  called  to  a  number  of  work- 
ing terms,  used  constantly  in  both  the  descriptive  text  arid  the 


STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS  3 

statistical  tables  found  in  later  sections.  These  definitions  and 
explanations  are  taken  in  substance  and  in  part  literally  from 
standard  books  on  similar  themes,  and  present  their  common 
use  by  child  welfare  workers  of  the  United  States.  Quotation 
marks  are  omitted,  as  some  of  the  statements  are  changed  in 
their  wording  to  fit  their  present  use. 

Children  who  are  in  trouble  or  distress  because  responsible 
relatives  have  failed  in  their  duties,  are  termed  "neglected," 
and  are  subjects  for  social  work  and  court  action.  Very  many 
"neglected"  children  become  dependent,  delinquent,  or  defective. 

The  term  "dependents"  is  used  for  all  needy  and  neglected 
children,  whether  orphaned  or  with  living  parents,  who  require 
assistance  from  those  outside  of  their  immediate  families  or 
from  public  funds. 

The  term  "delinquents"  applies  to  the  wilful  and  wayward, 
requiring  some  degree  of  custodial  care,  and  implying,  gen- 
erally, action  by  some  juvenile  court.  Some  who  are  simply 
truant  or  disobedient  are  called  "delinquent,"  even  though  they 
may  not  have  been  before  a  juvenile  court;  and  such  are  often 
described  as  "mild  delinquents." 

The  "defectives"  are  the  mentally  deficient  and  the  epilep- 
tic, and  the  physically  diseased,  crippled,  or  deformed.  In  this 
study  reference  is  mainly  to  the  feeble-minded. 

The  term  "agency"  is  used  to  indicate  a  child-caring  organ- 
ization whose  main  function  is  to  provide  for  dependent,  delin- 
quent and  defective  children  by  placing  them  in  family  homes, 
orphanages,  hospitals,  special  institutions,  or  reformatories. 
Some  agencies  have  small  institutions,  called  detention  or 
receiving  homes,  in  which  their  wards  are  given  temporary 
care  pending  more  permanent  placement. 

The  term  "institutions"  is  used  for  those  child-caring  organ- 
izations whose  principal  function  is  to  provide  direct  and  more 
or  less  permanent  board  and  care,  and  which  usually  possess 
considerable  plant  and  equipment  for  this  service. 

The  "cottage"  type  of  institutions  is  indicated  by  limited 
groups  of  children  in  small  buildings,  and  care  and  spirit  in 
imitation  of  ordinary  family  life.  Where  each  cottage  is  a 
complete  domestic  unit,  with  its  own  kitchen  and  dining  room, 
the  number  of  children  should  not  exceed  30  in  any  one  cottage. 
Where  the  cooking  is  done  in  a  general  kitchen,  the  number 


4  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

should  not  exceed  50  in  any  one  cottage.  The  best  modem 
practice  is  to  reduce  these  numbers,  and  high-class  institutions 
now  build  cottages  limiting  their  capacity  to  20,  15  or  even  10 
children. 

The  "congregate"  type  of  institutions  is  indicated,  gen- 
erally, by  large  buildings  and  care  of  children  en  masse,  with 
little  approach  to  family  life.  The  usual  minimum  number  of 
children  in  a  congregate  institution  or  building  is  50 ;  but  where 
the  physical  equipment,  spirit  and  methods  are  adapted  to  mass 
care,  and  the  treatment  of  the  children  is  collective  rather  than 
individual,  these  conditions  rather  than  numbers  would  call 
for  the  congregate  classification. 

The  "plant"  of  an  institution  includes  the  grounds,  build- 
ings, furnishings  and  equipment  directly  connected  with  the 
care  of  children.  All  other  property,  including  lands,  buildings, 
bonds,  mortgages,  bequests  and  invested  funds  of  all  kinds,  is 
counted  "endowment,"  whether  or  not  it  has  been  definitely  set 
aside  as  such  by  the  institution.  Plant  and  endowment  added, 
make  the  total  value  of  property. 

The  "value  of  property"  is  generally  partly  estimated. 
Usually  it  is  set  forth  by  the  officers  of  the  various  institu- 
tions; but  sometimes  it  is  necessary  for  the  visitor  to  make 
the  estimate,  after  careful  consultations. 

The  "capacity"  of  an  institution  is  the  number  of  children 
for  whom  sleeping  accommodations  are  or  properly  can  be 
provided. 

The  term  "regular  employe"  or  worker  usually  means  one 
paid  a  salary  for  devoting  all  of  his  or  her  time  to  the  service ; 
but  may  include,  as  in  Catholic  institutions,  those  who  are 
regularly  employed  but  have  no  stated  financial  compensation. 

When  used  in  tables  or  descriptions  of  child-caring  work, 
the  term  "maintenance"  refers  to  the  current  expenses  of  an 
institution  for  a  year ;  and  cost  "per  capita"  means  the  expense 
for  a  single  child  for  a  year.  The  "per  capitas"  are  usually 
based  on  the  average  number  of  children  in  care  during  the 
year  of  the  report. 

To  "place  with  kin"  is  to  place  children  with  relatives  of  the 
first  and  second  degrees — parents,  grandparents,  brothers  or 
sisters. 

The  term  "child-placing  in  families,"  or  placing-out,  means 


STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS  5 

to  place  dependent  or  delinquent  children  in  the  families  of 
others  than  relatives  within  the  second  degree,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  providing  homes  for  such  children.  Child-placing  in 
families  has  three  forms  or  types : 

a.  Placing  in  "free  homes";  the  form  generally  used  for  the  more 
permanent  kinds  of  placement,  and  for  orphans,  foundlings,  and  other 
children  permanently  separated  from  living  parents. 

b.  Placing  in  "boarding  homes";  the  form  generally  used  when  only 
temporary  care  is  required,  and  the  legal  status  or  physical  condition  of 
the  children,  or  expectation  that  parents  may  reestablish  a  proper  home, 
makes  such  an  arrangement  necessary. 

c.  Placing  in  "working  homes,"  sometimes  called  "wage  homes";  the 
form  used  for  large  boys  and  girls,  who  are  able  to  earn  their  board  and 
keep,  and  perhaps  some  wages  in  addition.  The  homes  are  selected  and 
agreements  made  by  the  agency  or  institution,  and  the  ward  and  the  home 
remain  under  observation  and  supervision  during  the  period  covered. 

An  agency  or  institution  is  said  to  do  "child-placing  in 
families"  when  it  selects  homes  and  officially  locates  its  wards 
in  family  homes;  or  secures  work  including  homes  for  any 
number  of  its  minor  wards,  and  by  authority  of  its  guardian- 
ship officially  arranges  for  their  location  in  such  homes,  either 
as  paying  boarders,  free  inmates,  or  paid  workers. 

"Public  funds"  are  those  derived  from  taxation,  whether 
administered  by  State,  county,  or  municipal  authorities. 
Private  institutions  receive  public  funds  in  one  of  two 
ways — lump  subsidies  or  per  capita  payments  for  the  care  of 
designated  children. 

"Private  funds"  are  those  derived  from  sources  other  than 
taxes,  and  include  receipts  from  special  gifts,  income  from 
endowments,  general  donations,  entertainments,  tag  days,  and 
other  money  gathering  methods. 

"Public  institutions"  are  those  wholly  supported  by  public 
funds,  and  controlled  and  managed  by  public  officials,  elected 
or  appointed. 

"Private  institutions"  are  those  partly  or  wholly  supported 
by  private  funds,  and  controlled  and  managed  by  private 
boards,  which  are  usually  self-perpetuating,  and  operated  by 
their  employes.  When  institutions  are  privately  managed  but 
receive  a  large  part  of  their  support  from  public  funds,  they 
are  sometimes  termed  "semi-public,"  as  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania. 

The  term  "supervision"  has  a  definite  meaning  to  social 
workers,  but  is  exceedingly  lame  in  practice  in  many  states. 


6  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Supervision  of  child  welfare  work  is  of  two  types — supervision 
of  children  placed-out  in  families  by  agencies  and  institutions, 
and  supervision  of  organized  agencies  and  institutions  by  some 
proper  state  authority.  Adequate  supervision  is  such  as 
secures  the  welfare  of  the  children,  the  homes,  and  the  organ- 
izations ;  and  that  safeguards  the  vital  interests  of  society  and 
the  State.  Supervision  includes  the  right  of  the  State  to  follow 
and  pass  upon  the  expenditure  of  public  funds,  and  to  require 
adequate  returns  for  such  investment ;  but  this  is  the  smallest 
item  in  the  reasons  for  such  work.  The  greater  right  of  the 
State  is  found  in  its  relation  to  its  immature  citizens,  whose 
proper  support,  right  physical  and  mental  development,  and 
correct  character  building  it  is  bound  to  require  from  those 
accepting  the  responsibility  of  their  care. 

Statistical  Tables.  In  making  the  study  the  writer  per- 
sonally visited  each  institution,  some  of  them  several  times. 
A  schedule  was  used  in  order  to  obtain  uniform  statistics,  and 
additional  facts  and  impressions  were  recorded  in  story  form. 
For  convenience  of  study,  reference  and  tabulation  the  agencies 
and  institutions  are  now  grouped  according  to  management, 
function,  and  other  special  relations.  To  set  forth  clearly  and 
compactly  many  essential  matters  in  regard  to  each  institu- 
tion, as  related  to  others  doing  similar  work,  two  general 
tables  were  created,  one  for  public  and  one  for  private  institu- 
tions, each  containing  six  sections  and  an  aggregate  of  35  points 
of  information  on  each  institution.  Other  tables  summarize 
Oregon's  public  and  private  provision  for  children  of  the 
dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  classes. 

The  statistics  of  the  21  agencies  and  institutions  dealt  with 
in  these  tables  are  systematically  arranged,  with  a  view  to 
making  directly  visible  as  many  important  matters  as  possible. 
The  successive  study  of  the  sections  from  the  first  to  the  sixth 
will  best  enable  the  reader  to  gain  general  information  in 
regard  to  each  institution.  A  like  study  of  the  groups  of  insti- 
tutions will  permit  the  student  to  make  many  suggestive  com- 
parisons. The  character  of  the  different  sections,  each  a  table 
complete  in  itself,  and  the  material  contained  in  them,  are  as 
follows : 

Section  A.  General.  This  table  is  intended  to  give  an  outline  of  the 
institution's  general  character   and  work.     It  records  the  location  and 


STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS  7 

name,  year  of  foundling,  date  of  the  statistical  year  studied,  class  and 
sex  of  beneficiaries,  and  age  limits  for  the  reception  and  discharge  of 
inmates. 

Section  B.  Property.  This  table  shows  the  capacity  of  the  buildings 
used  in  the  care  of  children,  the  cost  of  plant  per  bed,  the  value  of  the 
plant  itself,  the  amount  of  endowment,  and  the  total  value  of  all  property. 

Section  C.  Maintenance.  This  table  takes  up  the  annual  current 
expense  of  each  institution,  showing  the  total  for  maintenance  and  the 
amount  paid  for  salaries,  with  per  capitas  for  total  maintenance  and 
salaries  based  upon  the  average  number  of  children  in  care.  Then  follow 
the  amount  of  public  funds  received  during  the  year,  and  its  per  cent  of 
the  annual  maintenance  expense. 

Section  D.  Averages.  This  table  shows  the  type  of  housing,  and 
the  average  per  cent  of  housing  capacity  in  use  during  the  year.  Then 
follow  the  number  of  regular  employes,  the  average  number  of  children 
in  care,  and  the  average  number  of  children  per  employe. 

Section  E.  Children  Served.  This  and  the  last  section  contain  the 
most  vital  of  these  statistics.  Section  E  begins  the  study  of  comparative 
numbers  by  showing  the  denominational  control  of  the  institutions,  and  the 
religious  affiliation  of  the  children  in  each.  The  table  then  records  the 
number  of  children  in  the  institution  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  covered 
by  the  report,  the  number  received  during  the  year,  and  the  total  number 
in  care  during  the  year.    This  last  number  is  the  basis  for  the  last  section. 

Section  F.  Disposition  of  Children.  To  match  the  entrance  statistics 
in  Section  E,  are  those  showing  what  disposition  was  made  of  the  recorded 
total,  in  columns  indicating  the  number  placed  in  family  homes,  returned 
to  kin  or.  friends,  died,  disposed  of  otherwise,  and  remaining  in  the  institu- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  year.  A  column  is  also  given  to  the  children  outside 
of  the  institution,  but  still  under  its  supervision  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  large  amounts  invested  in  both  the  pubHc  and  the 
private  institutions,  as  shown  by  these  tables,  will  be  a  revela-. 
tion  to  the  people  of  the  State.  Especially  will  it  be  astonishing 
to  many  to  learn  that  private  benevolence  has  invested  in  these 
philanthropic  institutions  property  aggregating  not  merely 
thousands,  but  millions. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  fiscal  year  covered  is  not  always  the 
same  for  the  different  institutions.  The  latest  statistics  avail- 
able are  used  in  each  case.  The  totals  for  this  reason  are  not 
exact  for  any  one  date,  but  only  approximate.  This  is  true, 
however,  of  any  statistics,  no  matter  how  carefully  collected. 
Nevertheless,  in  this  study  the  date  variations  are  small,  and 
the  statistics  were  provided  by  the  institution  officers  them- 
selves, so  that  they  afford  a  reasonably  accurate  resume  of 
recent  amounts,  numbers,  and  conditions. 

The  Institutions.  Counting  the  three  departments  of  the 
work  of  the  Multnomah  County  Juvenile  Court,  there  are  six 
public  and  15  private  agencies  and  institutions  whose  statistics 
are  available  for  tabulation.    One  private  institution  is  not  yet 


8  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

in  active  operation,  having  so  far  only  a  300-acre  site  and  a 
$200,000  endowment,  but  no  buildings  for  regular  work.  Its 
statistics  are  included  in  Sections  A  and  B  of  the  regular 
tables,  but  its  title  is  omitted  in  the  remaining  sections. 

Each  institution  is  treated  in  brief  descriptive  paragraphs 
in  its  proper  group,  and  the  appropriate  tables  for  reference 
follow  the  descriptive  matter  for  each  group.  The  public  insti- 
tutions are  separately  studied,  and  the  private  institutions  are 
grouped  according  to  control  and  function. 

Two  important  State  institutions,  the  School  for  the  Deaf 
and  the  School  for  the  Blind,  are  given  definite  mention  but 
their  statistics  are  not  tabulated.  These  institutions  are  a  part 
of  Oregon's  system  of  education,  are  not  used  for  continuous 
care,  and  should  not  be  listed  among  the  charities,  although 
they  are  under  the  management  of  the  Board  of  Control.  There- 
fore, they  are  treated  as  a  distinct  class  of  institutions,  with 
very  important  functions,  but  allied  naturally  to  the  schools 
and  colleges  of  the  State. 

The  Child  Labor  Bureau  and  other  organizations  for 
child  welfare,  of  preventive  rather  than  remedial  nature,  are 
also  given  brief  but  definite  treatment  in  the  descriptive  text. 

Study  and  Investigation.  As  used  in  describing  research 
efforts,  there  is  a  radical  difference  between  the  terms  "study" 
and  "investigation."  Commonly  a  "study"  does  not  work  upon 
a  definite  "case,"  is  not  made  on  account  of  rumors  or  evidence 
of  wrong  conditions,  and  is  not  generally  concerned  with  minor 
details ;  and  its  main  purpose  usually  is  to  outline  existing  facts, 
figures,  conditions  and  relations  so  that  those  interested  may 
change,  enlarge,  combine  and  rearrange  what  is  possessed  as 
the  situation  may  demand.  On  the  other  hand,  an  "investiga- 
tion" usually  takes  up  some  "case"  brought  to  light  by  rumor 
or  complaint,  seeks  to  find  out  the  truth  in  regard  to  matters 
reported  to  be  unsatisfactory,  or  to  disprove  or  demonstrate 
more  general  conditions  that  in  some  way  have  become  the 
subject  of  controversy. 

In  short,  the  term  "investigation"  is  usually  destructive  in 
its  implication  and  application,  and  "leaves  a  bad  taste  in  one's 
mouth" ;  while  the  term  "study"  relates  to  good  as  well  as  bad, 
almost  invariably  has  a  constructive  spirit  and  application,  with 


STUDY  BASIS  AND  WORKING  TERMS  9 

its  central  purposes  advancement  and  betterment.    The  present 
effort  is  a  study,  not  an  investigation. 

Spirit  of  the  Study.  First,  so  far  as  human  limitations  per- 
mit, this  study  is  nonpartisan  and  nonsectarian,  and  with- 
out prejudice  or  partiality.  It  has  two  definite  objects — to 
define  and  describe  the  present  situation  in  regard  to  dependent, 
delinquent  and  defective  children  in  Oregon,  and  to  offer 
some  suggestions  and  recommendations  for  progress  and 
improvement. 

The  writer  and  his  colleagues  of  the  Commission  recognize 

the  duty  of  the  State  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  general 

parenthood  for  the  children  within  its  borders,  and  especially 

for  those  of  the  classes  here  under  consideration.    We  accept 

as   a  fine  expression  of  this  idea  Dr.   L.  Walter  Mason's 

declaration : 

"The  genius  of  democracy  or  f  raternalism  is  mutual  rights  and  mutual 
benefits.  The  highest  excellencies  of  human  character  can  only  come 
from  the  sense  of  obligation  which  gives  to  the  weak  and  dependent,  know- 
ing that  to  the  giver  there  can  be  no  return  save  the  satisfaction  which 
comes  from  the  exercise  of  the  highest  function  of  the  mind  and  heart — 
parental  love.  *  *  *  As  a  matter  of  fact,  quite  one-half  of  the  popu- 
lation must  be  taken  care  of  by  the  other  half.  All  have  rights  but  only  a 
part  have  powers.  *  *  *  And  no  adequate  treatment  can  be  meted 
out  to  the  multitudes  of  dependent  little  citizens  until  the  State  is  actuated 
by  the  spirit  of  noblesse  oblige,  the  spirit  of  an  exalted  parenthood.* 


*  State  Parenthood  for  Dependent  Children,  Dr.  L.  Walter  Mason,  Child  Welfare 
Symposium,  Department  of  Child-helping,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York, 
1915. 


\ 


II. 

THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 

THE  public  child-caring  institutions  of  Oregon  include 
only  one  county  child-placing  agency  and  two  institutions, 
and  five  state  institutions;  of  which  two  state  institu- 
tions are  not  for  full  annual  care  and  are  chiefly  educational 
in  character,  hence  are  not  included  in  the  tables  with  the 
children's  charities. 

Correspondence  with  the  County  Judges  failed  to  develop 
any  other  public  institutions  regularly  caring  for  children 
within  the  State.  In  a  few  counties  children  are  held  in  deten- 
tion at  the  city  or  county  jails,  or  are  temporarily  cared  for  at 
poorhouses.  But  such  cases  are  declared  exceptional  and  infre- 
quent, and  dependents,  delinquents  and  defectives  are  either 
boarded-out  in  families  at  county  expense  or  are  sent  to  public 
or  private  institutions  at  Salem  or  Portland. 
^  Taking  up  first  the  county  institutions,  which  are  all  at 
Portland,  we  note  that  they  are  service  sections  under  the 
management  of  the  Multnomah  County  Juvenile  Court.  Else- 
where will  be  found  a  somewhat  detailed  description  of  Juvenile 
Courts  and  their  work.  In  this  connection  only  the  depart- 
ments caring  for  children  will  be  considered.  These  have 
reasonably  distinct  entities  and  functions,  and  will  be  separately 
treated. 

1.  Home-placing  Department,  Juvenile  Court,  Portland. 

This  department  has  been  in  somewhat  formal  operation 

since  1916,  although  some  placing-out  was  done  by  the  Court 

^  previous  to  that  year.    A  probation  officer  is  appointed  to  de- 

^  vote  her  entire  time  to  the  home-placing  of  dependent  and 

mildly  delinquent  children,  who  are  under  the  authority  of  the 

Court.    A  very  few  of  these  are  cases  of  temporary  need,  and 

are  placed-out  on  board;  but  the  great  majority  are  entirely 

^homeless  and  are  placed  in  free  homes  for  permanent  care,  a 

large  number  of  them  with  the  expectation  of  full  adoption. 

So  far  the  probation  officer  in  charge  of  the  department  has 
only  one  assistant,  a  stenographer  working  only  part  time. 

10 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  11 

The  latest  figures  available  are  the  records  of  the  work  done 
in  1917.  These  statistics,  given  in  the  table  at  the  close  of  the 
descriptions  of  the  public  institutions,  show  that  a  total  of  290 
children  passed  through  the  department  during  the  year.  Of 
this  number  206  were  placed-out  in  family  homes,  41  were 
returned  to  kin  or  friends,  39  were  disposed  of  otherwise,  and 
four  remained  on  hand  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

A  large  part  of  the  children  handled  are  located  previous 
to  and  after  assignment  to  the  home-placing  department  in 
Frazer  Home,  the  general  institution  of  the  Court.  From  this 
home  the  children  are  distributed  to  families  as  suitable  homes 
are  found.  Other  children  assigned  to  the  department  by  the 
Court  remain  in  other  institutions,  or  in  the  homes  of  parents 
or  friends,  awaiting  the  call  of  the  department,  when  proper 
homes  are  available.  There  were  10  such  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  and  as  above  noted,  four  at  the  year's  close.  Then 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1917  there  were  142  children  out  in 
family  homes,  not  yet  adopted,  for  whose  supervision  the 
department  was  responsible. 

The  statistics  just  given  show  that  the  work  of  this  depart- 
ment is  large  and  very  important.  To  settle  annually  the  home 
life  during  their  minority,  and  probably  the  entire  future 
destiny  of  290  immature  citizens  of  Oregon  is  a  task  bearing 
with  it  great  responsibility.  First,  the  office  work,  including  a 
thousand  consultations  and  the  record  keeping  for  290  children ; 
second,  the  finding  of  over  200  homes  that  can  be  approved 
after  careful  investigation,  the  fitting  to  them  of  an  equal 
number  of  children,  and  the  placing  of  these  little  ones  in  the 
homes  of  their  new  foster  parents;  third,  the  visitation  and 
supervision  of  over  140  children,  scattered  about  in  as  many 
families,  to  make  sure  of  their  welfare  and  to  arrange  for  their 
future,  either  in  the  homes  where  they  are  located  or  in  new 
foster  homes. 

For  all  of  this  work  the  Court  provided  only  one  probation 
officer,  with  one  assistant  on  part  time.  To  do  this  accord- 
ing to  modern  standards  more  workers  would  be  a  necessity. 
The  office  work  and  record  keeping  alone,  for  the  number 
handled,  should  have  the  full  time  of  two  expert  workers. 
To  carefully  study  at  least  300  homes  applying  for  children, 
so  as  to  obtain  over  200  suitable  for  use,  and  the  placement 


12  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

of  selected  children  in  them,  would  mean  large  work  for 
one  or  two  more.  The  general  field  work,  including  the 
visitation  and  supervision  of  140  homes  in  which  children  are 
placed-out,  would  require  very  active  service  if  done  by  a  single 
visitor.  At  the  very  least,  for  the  amount  of  work  done  in 
v;1917,  the  department  should  have  four  experienced  employes 
on  full  time.  Even  if  a  full  force  could  be  employed,  reasons 
are  given  later  why  such  work  by  the  Juvenile  Court  is  not 
desirable. 

Child-placing  in  families  is  a  technical  and  responsible  work, 
for  the  little  children  who  are  given  over  to  the  care  of  strangers 
are  in  no  way  to  blame  for  their  dependency,  have  no  volition  as 
to  what  is  to  be  done  with  them,  and  depend  for  their  present 
care  and  future  welfare  upon  the  faithfulness  and  skill  with 
which  the  task  of  placing  them  is  performed.  To  attempt  to 
do  this  work  with  untrained  agents,  or  with  an  inadequate 
force  of  workers,  is  to  invite  very  serious  criticism,  and  is 
likely  to  result  in  so  many  and  such  disastrous  failures  in 
securing  the  welfare  of  the  children,  as  to  bring  child-placing 
as  a  method  into  disrepute. 

2.  Frazer  Home,  Juvenile  Court,  Portland. 

This  institution  was  established  in  1906,  as  the  Detention 
Home  of  the  county  Juvenile  Court.  By  a  gradual  develop- 
ment of  the  work  of  the  Court,  and  evidently  without  definite 
intention  of  such  change,  it  has  become  a  general  institution, 
with  three  special  functions.  It  is  still  a  Detention  Home  for 
the  temporary  care  of  children  related  to  the  Court,  who  are 
waiting  for  the  determination  of  their  cases,  or  who  are  held 
as  witnesses  in  the  cases  of  others.  It  is  also  a  receiving  home, 
for  the  temporary  care  of  children  assigned  to  the  Home-placing 
Department.  Thirdly,  it  is  a  commitment  institution,  to  which 
the  Court  commits  the  delinquent  boys  who  are  too  small  or 
young  to  be  sent  to  'The  Ranch,"  and  the  delinquent  girls  that 
the  Court  does  not  care  to  send  to  the  State  Industrial  School. 
^^  The  delinquent  boys  and  girls  are  separated  from  the  depen- 
dents as  much  as  the  construction  of  the  building  will  permit, 
but  there  is  much  of  mingling  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  prevent  it. 

Frazer  Home  is  a  frame  building  of  two  stories,  with  a  usable 
attic,  and  stands  upon  a  fine  tract  of  four  acres  in  the  northern 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  13 

part  of  the  city.  Its  capacity  is  70  children.  The  building  is 
partly  modern,  and  is  in  fairly  good  condition,  but  is  far  from 
being  suitable  for  even  the  Detention  Home  work  alone  of  a 
large  city  like  Portland.  There  is  a  small  '"portable"  city  school 
building  on  the  property,  and  a  school  session  covering  only 
one-half  of  each  school  ,day,  and  the  grammar  grades,  is  pro- 
vided by  the  city  School  Board.  Evidently  better  school  priv- 
ileges should  be  given  to  these  wards  and  children  of  the  city. 
The  average  number  of  children  in  care  during  1917  was  25, 
and  the  institution  cared  for  a  total  of  508  children.  Of  these 
at  least  186  were  wards  of  the  court,  for  whom  ''history  sheets" 
were  made  out,  and  who  for  the  main  part  were  definitely 
"committed"  to  the  Home  for  various  periods.  The  rest  were 
informally  assigned  there,  as  temporary  dependents  or  for 
placing-out  by  the  Home-placing  Department.  Of  these  at 
least  113  were  found  homes  by  the  Department.  By  authority 
of  the  Court  241  of  the  year's  inmates  returned  to  kin  or 
friends,  217  were  disposed  of  otherwise,  and  50  remained  in 
care  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

a.  For  a  city  of  the  size  and  wealth  of  Portland,  this  institution  is 
inadequate,  and  is  very  inferior  in  character,  arrangements,  and  equip- 
ment for  the  service  it  is  expected  to  render.  Attention  is  called  to  the 
fine  Juvenile  Court  buildings,  which  include  Detention  Home  service,  now 
in  use  in  Seattle,  San  Francisco,  and  Los  Angeles.  Civic  pride  added  to 
altruistic  desire  to  do  this  work  according  to  the  best  modern  standards, 
should  lead  Portland  to  erect  in  the  very  near  future  a  building  or  build- 
ings of  similar  capacity  and  equipment. 

b.  The  writer  suggests  that  Frazer  Home  should  not  be  used  for  a 
combined  Detention  Home  and  Commitment  Institution.  It  is  bad  enough 
when  purely  detention  work  is  done  to  mix  dependents  and  delinquents  in* 
the  same  institution;  it  is  much  worse  when  the  tenure  of  stay  of  the  very 
class  likely  to  exericse  ab  ad  influence  and  make  trouble  of  all  sorts  is 
increased. 

3.  Industrial  Farm  for  Boys,  (The  Ranch),  Juvenile  Court, 
Portland* 

This  institution  was  established  in  April,  1918,  to  provide  a 
place  for  large  boys,  delinquent  in  action  but  hopeful  in  possi- 
bilities. It  was  founded  on  the  idea  that  in  many  cases  boys 
may  be  reclaimed  by  a  short  commitment  to  an  institution 
where  special  personal  influence  may  be  brought  to  bear,  and 
pass  back  into  society  without  the  stigma  that  attaches  to 
commitment  to  the  State  Training  School. 

"The  Ranch,"  as  the  little  institution  is  generally  called. 


14  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

is  the  ''Old  Poor  Farm,"  a  tract  of  215  acres,  about  four  miles 
from  the  Court  House  in  Portland.  The  only  buildings  at 
present  are  the  Superintendent's  cottage,  which  provides  rooms 
for  his  use  and  quarters  for  eight  boys ;  a  boxed-in  water  tower, 
with  a  story  finished  off  for  dormitory  purposes  to  accommo- 
date several  boys;  and  a  barn,  which  it  is  proposed  to  finish 
off  for  dormitory  use.  The  cottage  has  been  repaired  and 
modernized ;  the  other  buildings  are  of  rather  inferior  quality. 

The  Court  has  been  using  "The  Ranch"  only  three  months 
at  this  writing,  (August,  1918).  The  superintendent  and  his 
wife  are  the  only  employes.  An  average  of  eight  boys  has  been 
in  care.  When  the  full  capacity  is  used,  and  a  dozen  or  more  big, 
bad  boys  are  housed  in  the  water  tower  and  remodeled  barn, 
other  employes  will  be  a  necessity,  for  no  one  would  favor 
leaving  such  a  group  to  their  own  devices,  especially  at  night. 
The  very  purpose  of  the  institution  demands  adequate  and  high 
class  adult  supervision. 

The  tables  at  the  close  of  this  section  present  the  statistics 
of  "The  Ranch"  for  the  three  months  of  its  active  operation. 
In  figuring  the  per  capitas  this  institution  was  ommitted  as 
it  has  been  in  operation  only  three  months.  But  it  is  evident 
that  the  per  capita  cost  of  care  is  extremely  high.  With  the 
full  present  capacity  used,  other  employes  must  be  added,  and 
their  salaries  and  maintenance  will  increase  the  expense,  so 
that  the  cost  can  not  be  materially  lowered  in  the  present  plant. 

It  was  planned  to  erect  at  once  one  modern  cottage  on  "The 
Ranch,"  with  a  capacity  of  15  or  20  boys,  with  other  cottages  to 
follow;  but  war  conditions  and  other  difficulties  in  regard  to 
finance  have  led  to  an  indefinite  postponement  of  the  building 
project.  Perhaps  this  is  providential  as  well  as  prudential.  The 
site  is  very  hilly,  is  difficult  of  access,  being  miles  from  a  street 
railway,  is  said  to  have  been  abandoned  as  a  "Poor  Farm" 
because  insanitary,  and  lacks  many  elements  desirable  in  locat- 
ing an  institution  of  this  kind.  Probably  by  the  time  funds  for 
building  an  Industrial  Home  for  Delinquent  Boys  can  be 
appropriated,  some  other  and  better  site  will  be  available. 

Passing  now  to  the  State  child-caring  institutions,  they  will 
be  taken  up  in  order,  first  those  for  delinquents,  then  the  insti- 
tution for  defectives,  and  lastly  the  two  educational  institutions. 


THE  Public  institutions 


15 


They  are  numbered  in  accord  with  the  places  assigned  them  in 
the  tables  at  the  close  of  the  descriptions  of  the  public 
institutions. 

4.  State  Training  School  for  Boys,  Salem. 

This  important  institution  for  the  care  and  training  of  delin- 
quent boys  is  located  on  a  farm  of  500  acres,  five  miles  from 
Salem.  It  was  founded  in  1891.  The  original  structure,  built 
at  that  time,  is  a  very  tall  and  stately  building,  of  striking 
architecture,  four  floors  above  the  basement,  intended  by  its 


STATE  TRAINING  SCHOOL. 

sponsors  to  house  every  feature  of  such  an  institution  within 
its  own  walls.  Subsequently  a  large  addition  was  erected  at 
the  ends  of  the  original  building,  providing  space  for  two  school 
rooms,  chapel,  hospital,  dining  room,  a  sHght  increase  in  dor- 
mitory extent,  and  a  few  rooms  for  employes.  Viewed  from 
afar,  it  is  very  impressive ;  studied  with  reference  to  use  as  an 
institution  of  this  kind,  operated  according  to  modern  ideas,  it 
is,  as  one  of  its  present  officers  tersely  said,  *'a  liability  rather 
than  an  asset." 

There  is  also  an  industrial  building,  with  tailor  shop,  shoe 
shop,  laundry,  machinery  and  blacksmith  shops.  Wooden 
buildings  provide  space  for  the  carpenter  shop,  manual  train- 


16  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

ing  department,  and  gymnasium.  These  buildings  occupy  all 
the  level  space  on  the  site.  There  is  a  court  of  120  by  125  feet 
paved  for  playground  for  the  entire  school. 

The  institution  is  said  to  have  a  capacity  for  140  boys ;  and 
from  the  size  of  the  buildings  one  would  imagine  it  easy  to 
accommodate  that  number.  But  owing  to  faulty  architectural 
arrangement,  beds  for  that  number  must  occupy  space  that  is 
adequate  for  only  100.  To  relieve  present  congestion,  the  super- 
intendent suggests  that  a  family  might  be  housed  in  the  indus- 
trial building,  using  the  second  floor  for  dormitory  and  reading 
room;  the  meals  being  taken  in  the  dining  room  in  the  main 
building.  In  this  case  an  additional  family  manager  would  be 
required.  As  a  temporary  makeshift  this  seems  entirely 
feasible. 

The  boys  are  now  divided  into  two  families  of  65  to  80  boys 
each,  the  number,  of  course,  varying  as  inmates  are  admitted 
and  dismissed.  These  families  are  too  large,  and  their  small 
number  prevents  any  satisfactory  segregation  of  the  boys  by 
classes  and  ages.  The  superintendent  very  earnestly  suggests : 
"Give  a  man  75  or  80  boys  to  manage  in  a  main  building,  handi- 
capped as  we  are  here,  and  he  is  subject  to  the  erosion  of  long 
hours  of  dull  care  without  the  hope  of  a  measure  of  success 
that  inspires  many  souls  in  the  inevitable  conflict  with  delin- 
quent Boydom.  The  energy  that  should  have  full  play  in  build- 
ing character  is  to  a  large  degree  dissipated  in  the  necessary 
suppression  of  too  many  irrepressibles." 

During  the  year  1917  the  school  received  in  new  and  returned 
inmates  196  boys;  and  the  total  number  in  care  for  the  year 
was  314.  Of  these  189  were  placed-out  on  parole,  returned  to 
kin  or  friends,  or  disposed  of  otherwise,  leaving  125  in  care  at 
the  close  of  the  year.  There  are  employed  at  present  a 
''faculty"  of  22  officers  and  teachers.  All  the  work  of  the 
farm  and  for  the  school  is  done  by  the  boys  under  the  super- 
vision of  instructors.  The  boys  attend  school  one-half  of  each 
day  and  work  at  trades  or  housework  the  other  half.  The 
maintenance  expenses  for  1917  amounted  to  $36,544,  or  $292 
for  each  inmate  of  the  average  number  in  care. 

To  this  school  are  sent,  under  Court  commitment,  delin- 
quent boys  from  12  to  18  years  of  age.    Since  March,  1918, 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  17 

health  certificates  accompany  each  boy;  and  since  that  date 
history  sheets  also  have  been  sent  with  the  commitments  from 
Multnomah  County,  but  not  from  the  other  counties  of  the 
State.  For  lack  of  case  study  diagnoses  the  officers  of  the 
school  have  had  very  little  knowledge  of  the  boys'  past  or  of 
their  former  home  life;  and  this  has  been  a  great  hindrance 
to  wise  and  constructive  work.  This  deficiency  should  be 
corrected  by  requiring  a  history  sheet  containing  a  careful 
case  study  with  each  commitment  from  every  county  in  the 
State. 

Boys  are  committed  for  varying  terms  with  the  limit 
age  of  detention  21  years;  but  they  may  be  paroled  before 
that  age  by  the  Board  of  Control.  The  average  length  of  time 
a  boy  remains  at  the  institution  is  less  than  one  year.  The 
system  of  paroles  by  which  the  boys  may  shorten  their  stay 
at  the  school,  and  go  out  to  work  or  return  to  kin  or  friends,  is 
not  satisfactory  under  present  conditions.  There  is  no 
special  parole  officer.  The  work  falls  mainly  upon  the  super- 
intendent, whose  time  is  otherwise  occupied  to  the  limit,  and 
proper  "follow-up-work"  is  impossible.  Parole  cards  are  in 
use,  and  correspondence  mainly  is  relied  upon  for  information 
and  return  advice  and  counsel  to  the  paroled  boy.  This  system 
gives  little  accurate  knowledge  of  the  real  progress  made  by 
the  boy  after  leaving  the  school ;  it  does  nothing  by  constructive 
guidance  to  bridge  the  critical  period  which  follows  his  leaving 
a  life  carefully  supervised  to  return  to  one  often  of  unrestrained 
freedom;  and  results  very  naturally  in  numerous  lapses  into 
misconduct,  and  the  return  of  an  unwarranted  number  of  boys 
to  the  custody  of  the  school,  hardened  and  worse  than  when 
they  were  first  committed.  A  parole  officer  and  a  revised 
parole  system  are  immediate  necessities.  Perhaps  a  resident 
chaplain  could  also  act  as  a  parole  officer. 

It  is  confessed  that  proper  segregation  under  present  con- 
ditions is  impossible.  The  third  family,  suggested  by  the 
superintendent,  should  be  organized  without  delay,  both  to 
segregrate  the  boys  more  fully  by  age  and  character  and  to 
enable  the  officers  to  do  closer  and  more  satisfactory  work  in 
character  building.  The  superintendent  also  urgently  asks  for 
a  manual  training  teacher,  an  instructor  in  the  machinery  de- 


18  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

partment,  a  good  greenhouse  and  a  gardener  who  understands 
its  care.  The  added  payroll  expense  incident  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  third  family,  and  the  addition  of  the  other  employes 
just  mentioned,  in  his  judgment  would  approximate  $350  to 
$400  per  month.  Surely  the  State  of  Oregon  can  easily  provide 
these  necessities  for  good  and  efficient  service. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  present  four-story  main 
building  is  as  much  out  of  date  for  this  work  as  an  ox  team  on 
a  modern  farm.  Much  greater  success  in  managing  boys  and 
in  improving  character  is  possible  when  segregation  is  well 
arranged  by  age,  disposition  and  other  qualities,  when  the 
family  units  are  made  as  small  as  possible,  and  when  the  direct 
influence  of  high-class  officers  and  teachers  is  given  free 
opportunity.  Some  excellent  work  may  be  done  in  a  well- 
arranged  congregate  building,  but  only  a  real  '"cottage"  plant 
gives  the  facilities  for  the  best  work  according  to  modern  ideas 
and  methods. 

The  organization  of  a  third  family,  as  recommended  above, 
should  be  counted  only  a  temporary  arrangement.  Several 
cottages,  each  with  a  capacity  of  30  to  40  boys,  should  be  added 
to  the  plant  as  soon  as  possible.  The  cost  under  present  con- 
ditions and  hiring  all  the  work  done,  with  the  site  furnished, 
will  not  fall  far  below  $1,000  for  each  unit  of  capacity.  That  is, 
a  cottage  for  30  boys  will  cost  about  $30,000.  Two  or  more 
should  be  erected  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 

There  is  a  way  to  lessen  the  cost  in  dollars  and  cents,  and 
yet  accomplish  more  than  by  the  usual  contract  plan  of  erec- 
tion. In  many  eastern  states,  and  by  at  least  two  institutions 
for  large  boys  in  the  State  of  California,  satisfactory  cottages 
have  been  erected  by  the  boys  themselves,  working  under 
capable  instructors,  thus  reducing  the  expense  to  the  wages  of 
supervisors  and  the  cost  of  materials.  In  Maine  and  Indiana 
the  boys  made  the  brick  with  which  they  built  their  own  cot- 
tages. The  possibilities  along  this  line  are  as  great  in  Oregon 
as  elsewhere.  The  money  saving  would  very  likely  amount  to  at 
least  one-third  of  the  contract  cost  of  such  buildings ;  but  the 
money  saving  to  the  taxpayers  of  the  State  would  be  less  in 
importance  than  the  knowledge  and  experience  gained  by  the 
boys  in  the  work,  and  the  esprit  de  corps  developed  in  the 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  19 

student  body  by  the  fact  that  they  were  actually  accomplishing 
a  large  work  of  construction. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  suitable  level  ground  on  the  present 
site  is  inadequate  for  such  enlargment.  Perhaps  by  a  frontage 
on  the  level  with  basement  outreach  over  the  hillside,  proper 
cottage  sites  may  be  found  adjacent  to  the  main  building. 
Some  way  can  be  found,  if  the  State  will  provide  the  money  to 
erect  the  desired  cottages. 

There  is  a  good  alternative.  Oregon  should  establish  a 
reformatory  for  boys  over  16  and  adult  first  offenders.  Other 
states  have  set  the  example.  Washington  has  such  an  institu- 
tion at  Monroe.  The  present  training  school  plant  could  be  used 
as  the  beginning  of  such  a  reformatory,  and  the  training  school 
be  moved  to  another  site.  This  would  enable  the  training 
school  to  build  a  modern  cottage  plant,  arranged  and  equipped 
for  the  care  and  education  of  boys  from  10  to  16  years  of  age, 
where  they  may  be  treated  as  children  and  be  surrounded  by  a 
more  home-like  atmosphere.  This  would  be  the  ideal  solution 
of  the  problem,  as  the  present  building  is  better  fitted  for 
reformatory  work  than  for  the  care  and  development  of 
younger  boys. 

From  the  best  information  obtainable,  since  the  social  fabric 
of  the  State  has  been  upset  by  the  great  war,  delinquency  is  one 
the  increase  in  Oregon.  Work  and  wage  conditions  are  at  least 
partly  resonsible.  Hundreds  of  children,  formerly  safer  in 
village  and  country  homes,  are  now  in  the  cities,  where  the 
parents  have  been  attracted  by  high  wages,  and  where  the  little 
people  are  often  left  to  care  for  and  amuse  themselves  all  day 
long,  without  parental  guidance  or  control.  There  are  also 
new  temptations,  in  both  country  and  city,  growing  out  of  war 
conditions,  and  a  laxness  of  spirit  which  comes  from  the  events 
that  fill  all  minds.  As  a  result  court  cases  and  commitments 
are  more  numerous,  and  a  place  must  be  provided  for  the  delin- 
quents assigned  to  institutional  custody.  This  applies  to  both 
sexes,  and  to  the  Industrial  School  for  Girls  as  well  as  to  the 
Training  School  for  Boys. 

5.  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  Salem. 

The  State  Industrial  School  for  Girls  is  located  upon  an  ele- 
vated tract  of  66  acres,  about  four  miles  from  Salem.    It  was 


20 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


established  in  1913,  and  was  located  in  temporary  quarters 
until  1915,  when  it  was  moved  to  its  present  site,  on  the  com- 
pletion of  its  first  and,  so  far,  only  home  building.  The  property 
is  valued  at  $75,000.  The  capacity  of  the  building  is  prop- 
erly only  about  35,  but  in  order  to  accommodate  a  larger  num- 
ber, additional  rooms  were  finished  off  in  the  attic,  so  that  it 
is  now  possible  to  accommodate  50  girls. 

The  purpose  of  the  institution  was  thus  stated  by  the  super- 
intendent :  ''Our  purpose  is  to  return  to  society  girls  who  can 
adjust  themselves  to  the  ordinary  strain  of  living,  and  to  segre- 


STATE  SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS 

gate  all  others.  As  a  means  to  this  end  girls  are  given  industrial 
training,  which  will  fit  them  particularly  for  household  pursuits 
and  homemaking.  Teachers  specially  trained  are  in  charge 
of  each  department.  The  courses  given  for  credit  are  cooking, 
sewing,  laundering,  gardening ;  the  housewife  arts  of  cleaning 
and  bedmaking;  hand  crafts  of  weaving,  plaiting,  crochet  and 
basketry ;  chicken  and  rabbit  rearing ;  physical  culture ;  music, 
vocal  and  instrumental ;  child  study,  feeding,  training  and  care 
of  children ;  and  the  usual  English  courses  through  the  eighth 
grade  accredited  by  the  Salem  superintendent  of  schools." 

The  above  extended  outline,  which  might  apply  very  nicely 
to  the  prospectus  of  a  private  seminary  for  well-to-do  children, 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.     It  is,  however,  quite  doubtful 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  21 

whether  all  of  these  points  of  excellence  are  to  be  found  in  the 
every  day  work  of  the  school.  Many  of  the  hand  crafts  are  not 
actively  taught  for  want  of  skilled  teachers.  Music  is  taught 
but  perfunctorily,  and  incidentally,  although  our  best  institu- 
tional experts  assure  us  that  music  can  be  made  very  useful 
in  such  schools,  both  as  an  adjunct  in  maintaining  discipline  and 
in  the  happy  development  of  many  individual  girls.  The  com- 
mon branches  seem  not  to  have  the  emphasis  in  the  practical 
work  of  the  school  that  seems  warranted  by  the  best  interests 
of  those  served. 

These  deficiencies  are  not  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the 
officers  and  workers,  but  are  due  primarily  to  the  smallness 
of  the  school  and  the  force  of  employes.  Provision  for  more 
vigorous  schooHng,  academic,  musical  and  industrial,  neces- 
sitates many  more  teachers  and  larger  and  more  varied  equip- 
ment. As  the  institution  enlarges  and  the  force  of  workers 
increases,  it  will  be  possible  to  select  the  latter  with  a  view  to 
more  nearly  carrying  out  the  prospectus  outlined  above. 

The  school  receives  delinquent  girls  from  12  to  18  years, 
committed  to  the  institution  by  the  Juvenile  Courts  of  the 
State,  but  may  also  receive  women  up  to  the  age  of  25  years 
committed  by  the  Municipal  Judges.  A  medical  examination 
is  required  previous  to  entrance,  and  none  are  admitted  who 
are  afflicted  with  the  social  diseases.  Psychological  examina- 
tions are  given  when  deemed  necessary,  to  prevent  the  admis- 
sion of  girls  who  are  feeble-minded.  It  is  said  that  at  least 
three-fourths  of  the  girls  come  from  broken  homes.  During 
the  year  1917  a  total  of  77  girls  were  in  care.  These  were  dis- 
posed of  as  follows:  Placed  in  family  homes,  six;  returned  to 
kin,  two ;  disposed  of  otherwise,  25 ;  leaving  in  the  institution  at 
the  close  of  the  year,  44. 

The  school  session  covers  only  half  of  each  school  day ;  the 
other  half  day  the  girls  spend  in  domestic  or  farm  work.  About 
40  acres  of  the  tract  are  in  cultivation,  and  the  girls  do  all  of 
the  work  except  the  plowing  and  cultivating.  The  arts  and 
crafts  of  homekeeping  are  taught  in  the  intervals,  as  the  work 
demands ;  and  other  accomplishments  as  time  and  the  presence 
of  suitable  teachers  will  permit.  The  recreation  provided  for 
the  girls  is  limited  because  of  lack  of  equipment.  There  is  no 
gymnasium.    There  are  no  basketball  or  tennis  grounds.  There 


22  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

is  little  chance  for  teamplay,  and  no  skilled  play  director.  The 
only  room  for  recreation  is  the  schoolroom,  which  is  altogether 
too  small  for  social  purposes.  In  this  room  there  is  dancing 
once  a  week.  Once  a  month  the  girls  are  permitted  to  give  an 
entertainment  to  which  outsiders  may  be  admitted.  The  great 
need  of  facilities  for  social  games,  of  an  out-door  playground, 
of  an  enlarged  library  and  more  periodical  literature,  and  of  an 
adequate  assembly  room,  are  too  apparent  to  require  argument. 

a.  The  length  of  time  that  a  girl  remains  in  the  institution  depends  very 
largely  upon  her  own  conduct.  The  girls  may  win  a  parole  after  a  number 
of  months  of  residence,  by  obtaining  credit  for  excellence  in  work  done  and 
personal  behavior.  After  a  girl  is  paroled  a  report  to  the  superintendent 
is  required  once  a  month.  Visits  to  the  girls  out  on  parole  are  also  made. 
Here  again  a  regular  parole  officer  is  a  prime  necessity,  for  the  superin- 
tendent can  give  to  the  paroled  girls,  whose  number  is  constantly  increas- 
ing, only  incidental  and  occasional  attention.  At  the  very  time  they  need 
guidance  and  stimulation  on  right  lines,  other  institutional  duties  require 
the  superintendent's  whole  time  and  most  vigorous  efforts.  A  parole 
officer  should  be  provided. 

b.  After  study  of  the  school  and  its  work,  the  writer  is  convinced  that 
the  State  should  at  once  add  to  the  plant  and  facilities  now  in  operation, 
new  buildings  and  equipment  sufficient  to  provide  for  at  least  50  more  girls, 
to  meet  the  increased  demands  of  an  enlarging  population  and  the  results 
of  war  conditions,  with  the  varied  additional  "faculty"  necessary  to  fit  the 
work  of  the  school  to  modern  standards. 

c.  Two  new  "cottages"  are  recommended,  each  to  accommodate  25 
girls,  and  to  be  complete  domestic  units,  that  is,  each  to  have  its  own 
kitchen  and  dining  room.  These  will  cost  approximately  $25,000  each,  or 
$50,000.  But  they  will  enable  the  institution  to  do  its  work  with  much 
greater  success.  First,  they  will  allow  of  the  segregation  of  young  girls 
from  older  ones,  and  of  first  offenders  and  mild  delinquents  from  hardened 
"repeaters."  By  proper  planning  in  erection,  some  of  the  deficiencies  of 
the  present  plant,  which  are  due  mainly  to  the  necessity  of  having  every- 
thing in  one  building,  may  be  overcome.  Removing  extra  numbers  from 
the  main  building  may  make  it  possible  to  provide  a  gymnasium  in  the 
basement;  larger  facilities  for  individual  and  class  study  of  music;  more 
art  and  craft  work;  better  academic  schooling;  and  perhaps  even  a 
satisfactory  assembly  room  may  be  obtained  by  some  rearrangement. 

Greatest  of  all  the  possibilities  of  such  additional  ''cottages" 
center  in  the  increased  opportunities  for  personal  work  by 
housemothers  and  teachers,  and  the  better  character  develop- 
ment of  the  inmates.  In  choosing  new  officers  and  teachers 
stress  should  be  put  upon  personal  character,  previous  training, 
and  present  fitness  for  this  special  work.  There  are  great  pos- 
sibilities before  this  school,  if  a  proper  "cottage"  plant  is  devel- 
oped, its  force  of  workers  made  to  fit  its  necessities,  and  the 
methods  employed  brought  into  accord  with  the  best  examples 
of  such  institutions  in  other  states. 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 


23 


6.  State  Institution  for  Feeble-Minded,  Salem. 

This  very  important  institution  was  established  in  1907,  but 
was  not  formally  opened  until  1908.  The  objects  of  the  insti- 
tution are  given  as  follows :  'Tirst,  prevention  of  mental  defec- 
tiveness by  segregation;  second,  such  care  and  attention  as 
will  make  them  as  nearly  self-supporting  as  possible;  third, 
custodial  care  for  the  idiotic  and  epileptic."  It  is  located  on  a 
farm  of  625  acres,  about  three  miles  southeast  of  Salem.  The 
administration  building  is  flanked  by  five  large  residence 
"cottages,"  each  with  a  capacity  for  80  inmates,  which  by 
crowding  may  be  made  to  hold  85  or  even  90,  of  the  less  afflicted 
ones,  so  that  the  total  capacity  is  about  425.    One  of  the  "cot- 


INSTITUTION  FOR  FEEBLE-MINDED 

tages"  was  completed  about  June,  1918,  and  is  being  filled  as 
rapidly  as  committed  girls  can  be  assembled  from  the  different 
parts  of  the  State. 

The  property  is  valued  at  $315,000.  During  the  year  1917 
the  institution  cared  for  a  total  of  350  inmates.  Of  these 
13  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  kin,  16  died  at  the  institution, 
and  321  remained  in  care  at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  report 
for  1918,  which  will  include  the  inmates  of  the  new  "cottage," 
will  show  an  average  of  over  400  inmates ;  for  the  number  is 
only  limited  by  the  capacity.  There  are  56  employes,  including 
all  caretakers  and  teachers.  The  cost  of  maintenance  for  1917 
was  $79,800. 

The  present  superintendent  has  secured  many  very  well 
trained  and  talented  teachers,  graduates  from  or  former  work- 


24  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

ers  in  some  of  the  best  and  most  progressive  institutions  for 
feeble-minded  in  the  eastern  states.  It  is  evident  that  the 
institution  is  doing  excellent  work  in  nearly  all  respects;  and 
the  exceptions  are  due  to  matters  over  which  the  administra- 
tion has  but  a  limited  control.  One  of  these  ''flies  in  the  oint- 
ment" is  the  inability  of  the  institution  to  properly  segregate 
the  various  classes  cared  for  with  the  present  number  of 
cottages.  The  constant  pressure  on  the  officers  to  receive  as 
many  as  the  buildings  can  possibly  accommodate,  forces  them 
to  put  many  of  the  higher  grade  imbeciles  and  morons  in  close 
association  with  others  of  very  low  mentality,  and  some  of  great 
physical  malformation.  Some  way  should  be  found  to  obviate 
this  difficulty,  which  the  superintendent  assures  the  writer 
can  not  be  overcome  except  by  the  erection  of  more  buildings. 

It  is  estimated  that  Oregon  has  in  its  population  about 
3,000  feeble-minded,  of  such  low  grade  that  they  should  prop- 
erly be  counted  subjects  for  institutional  care.  Some  of  these, 
after  long  training  under  expert  teachers  specially  educated 
for  such  work,  may  become  self-supporting  under  direction  and 
guardianship.  The  rest  should  be  placed  in  an  institution  to 
remain  for  life.  The  people  of  Oregon  should  realize  that 
feeble-minded  at  large  in  society  are  a  real  and  constant  men- 
ace ;  that  the  State  now  can  care  for  only  a  little  over  400 ;  and 
that  action  by  the  Legislature  greatly  enlarging  the  present 
plant  should  be  gladly  welcomed  by  all  taxpayers  and  advocated 
by  all  influential  citizens. 

Dr.  Martin  W.  Barr,  superintendent  of  one  of  the  largest 
institutions  for  feeble-minded  in  Pennsylvania,  describes  this 
class  in  these  words :  'The  victim,  the  scourge,  and  the  inevit- 
able procreator  of  a  decadent  humanity,  is  the  imbecile  of 
whatever  grade."  Dr.  Walter  S.  Cornell,  of  Philadelphia,  says : 
"Actually  95  per  cent  of  the  feeble-minded  are  bom  so."  Dr. 
J.  N.  Smith,  superintendent  of  the  institution  at  Salem,  who 
has  made  special  studies  along  this  line,  says :  "Feeble-mind- 
edness  is  to  a  large  extent  the  result  of  heredity,  fully  75  or  80 
per  cent  being  traceable  to  this  source.  The  remainder  is  due 
to  disease  or  pre-natal  influence,  and  a  certain  per  cent  of  this 
is  also  due  to  alcoholism.  The  only  way  to  combat  or  remove 
the  cause  is  to  prevent  reproduction.  The  only  way  this  can  be 
accomplished  is  by  segregation  in  homes  where  the  patients 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  25 

are  properly  cared  for  and  guarded.  These  people  must  always 
be  cared  for  by  the  State  in  some  way,  and  choice  must  be  made 
as  to  whether  they  shall  be  given  private  aid,  go  into  the  poor- 
houses,  fill  the  penal  institutions,  or  be  humanely  and  happily 
provided  for  in  institutions  specially  fitted  for  them.  The  last 
is  the  sensible,  economic,  and  truly  philanthropic  way." 

Probably  20  to  30  per  cent  of  the  inmates  of  the  Training 
School  for  Boys,  and  10  per  cent  of  the  inmates  of  the  Industrial 
School  for  Girls,  the  latter  a  somewhat  sifted  population,  are 
below  normal  in  mentality.  In  almost  every  institution  for 
dependents  visited  in  Oregon  are  several  cases  of  subnormal 
mentality,  the  children  being  kept  on  year  after  year,  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  getting  them  into  the  institution  at  Salem. 
Hundreds  are  at  large  in  the  various  communities,  reproducing 
their  kind  at  will  in  and  out  of  wedlock.  The  general  public  is 
suffering  this  menace,  beholding  the  deterioration  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  paying  the  bills  in  private  homes,  in  poorhouses, 
in  jails  and  reformatories,  and  in  the  larger  state  prison  for 
convicted  criminals.  Yet  some  people  are  short  sighted  enough 
to  oppose  enlargement  of  the  only  institution  in  the  State  that 
enlightened  public  opinion  and  the  conclusions  of  our  wisest 
psychologists  unite  in  counting  a  humane  protection  and  a 
proper  provision  for  an  unfortunate  class. 

Five  special  needs  of  this  institution  are  presented  for  the 
consideration  of  the  people  of  Oregon,  and  for  the  action  of 
their  representatives  when  the  Legislature  assembles. 

a.  Speaking  conservatively,  the  institution  should  have  added  to  its 
capacity  at  the  earliest  possible  day  cottages  to  accommodate  200  more 
inmates.  It  would  be  better  still  if  cottages  to  provide  for  300  more  could 
be  added  within  the  next  biennial  period.  Special  efforts  should  be  made  to 
provide  at  once  for  the  feeble-minded  girls  of  child-bearing  age.  On 
account  of  war  conditions  one  hestitates  to  ask  urgently  for  the  larger 
provision,  but  the  need  is  so  great  that  cottages  for  200  children  are  the 
"irreducible  minimum"  that  should  be  considered.  This  will  necessitate 
the  erection  of  two  or  three  cottages  on  the  order  of  the  ones  now  in  use, 
which  care  for  75  to  85  patients;  or  better  still,  four  cottages  which  will 
accommodate  40  to  50  inmates  each.  The  smaller  cottages  would  allow  of 
a  better  segregation  of  the  different  classes  of  mental  defectives,  and 
would  each  cost  about  $20,000  to  $25,000.  Frame  buildings  to  match  those 
in  use  can  be  erected  in  Oregon  at  less  cost  than  any  other  kind. 

b.  The  present  minimum  age  of  reception  is  five  years.  This  minimum 
probably  was  adopted  because  ordinary  psychological  tests  are  not  prac- 
tically usable  until  about  that  age.  But  there  are  many  younger  children 
clearly  of  the  feeble-minded  class.  The  condition  manifests  itself  unmis- 
takably to  even  casual  observers.  To  say  nothing  of  those  hidden  in  private 
homes,  there  are  cases  in  every  institution  for  infants  in  the  State.  They 
must  be  cared  for  somewhere.     The  only  provision  for  such  children  in 

Slg.  2. 


26  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Oregon  is  a  cottage  established  by  the  Pacific  Coast  Rescue  and  Protective 
Society,  where  it  is  now  caring  for  a  dozen  or  more  of  these  pitiful  beings. 
Yet  this  is  a  matter  for  State  provision  rather  than  private  benevolence. 
It  is  recommended  that  the  minimum  age  of  reception  at  the  State  Institu- 
tion be  lowered  to  one  year,  and  that  a  "Baby  Cottage"  be  erected  and 
operated  for  children  undoubtedly  feeble-minded  from  one  to  four  years 
of  age. 

c.  The  institution  greatly  needs  a  school  building,  properly  fitted  with 
classrooms,  a  gymnasium,  and  an  auditorium  to  seat  from  200  to  300 
people.  The  cost  of  a  frame  building  to  meet  these  needs  would  be  from 
$15,000  to  $20,000. 

d.  A  hospital  building  is  a  real  necessity.  Some  think  of  the  whole 
institution  as  a  hospital.  Not  so.  As  a  rule  the  feeble-minded  are  fairly 
healthy.  They  are  simply  children  who  never  grow  up  mentally.  When 
they  are  ill  they  should  have  separate  care  in  a  suitably  equipped  hospital. 
To  provide  for  this  need  is  only  common  humanity.  A  hospital  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  institution,  according  to  Dr.  Smith's  estimates,  can  be 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $7,000  to  $10,000. 

e.  In  order  to  have  a  central  place  for  the  school  building,  to  unify  the 
grouping  of  the  cottage  buildings,  and  to  remove  unsightly  piles  of  wood 
and  a  smoking  chimney  from  the  center  of  the  campus,  it  is  necessary  to 
remove  the  heating  plant  from  its  present  location  and  place  it  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  The  estimated  cost  of  this  much-needed  work  is  about 
$15,000.    It  would  be  a  great  improvement  at  a  very  small  cost. 

Tabulated  statistics  of  the  six  institutions  above  described 
will  be  found  at  the  close  of  this  section.  We  now  pass  to  the 
two  educational  institutions  for  children  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Board  of  Control,  which  give  care  to  their  students 
only  during  the  school  year. 

7.  Oregon  State  School  for  the  Deaf,  Salem. 

This  institution  was  established  in  1870  in  connection  with 
the  School  for  the  Blind,  but  later  was  given  a  separate  plant 
and  faculty.  It  is  located  on  a  tract  of  52  acres  adjoining  the 
city  of  Salem  on  the  north.  The  principal  buildings  are  of 
brick,  thoroughly  modem  in  construction,  with  ample  provision 
for  safety,  proper  light,  ventilation  and  sanitation.  The  capac- 
ity of  the  buildings  is  slightly  over  100.  The  pupils  under  12 
years  of  age  occupy  one  of  the  two  main  buildings,  and  the 
older  students  the  other,  which  also  contains  the  offices  and 
an  assembly  room.  There  is  a  pleasant  cottage  on  the  grounds 
for  the  superintendent's  residence. 

All  residents  of  Oregon,  six  to  21  years  of  age,  too  deaf  to 
make  satisfactory  progress  in  the  public  schools,  are  entitled 
to  admission.  About  35  to  40  per  cent  of  these  are  born  deaf. 
The  remainder  have  lost  their  hearing  from  the  effects  of 
various  diseases,  particularly  scarlet  fever,  measles  and 
meningitis. 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 


27 


The  Oregon  Blue  Book  thus  describes  the  work  of  the 

school : 

Its  object  is  purely  educational.  Its  peculiar  function  is  to  afford  the 
necessary,  modern,  centralized  facilities  for  educating  the  deaf,  giving 
them  as  far  as  possible  and  to  a  remarkable  degree  a  command  of  written 
language,  ability  to  speak  and  to  read  speech  from  the  movement  of  the 
lips,  and  sufficient  practical  industrial  training  to  fit  them  to  be  inde- 
pendent, self-supporting,  helpful  citizens.  It  is  free  for  the  same  reasons 
that  the  public  schools  are  free.  Trained  teachers  and  the  most  modern 
methods  are  employed.  The  literary  work  covers  all  grades  from  the  most 
elementary  to  first-year   high   school.     Great  emphasis   is  placed  upon 


SCHOOL  FOR  THE  DEAF 


vocational  training.  Printing,  carpentry  and  woodworking,  farm  and 
garden  work,  the  care  of  poultry,  cooking,  laundering,  fancy  sewing  and 
dressmaking,  and  household  work,  are  taught. 

Children  usually  enter  at  about  six  years  of  age,  knowing 
no  verbal  language  whatever.  They  are  trained  in  speech,  lip 
reading,  and  written  language ;  and  in  ten  or  12  years  are  taken 
through  the  eight  grades  of  public  school  work,  and  exceptional 
pupils  do  some  high  school  work.  Specially  trained  teachers 
are  required.  Most  of  these  must  come  from  the  east,  and  to 
induce  them  to  come  must  be  paid  good  salaries.  Two  special 
needs  are  apparent. 


28  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

a.  The  most  desirable  change  in  present  working  plans  requires  an  addi- 
tion to  the  plant.  There  should  be  complete  segregation  of  a  primary  oral 
or  speech  department,  in  which  beginning  pupils  would  not  come  in  contact 
with  the  older  pupils  who  know  and  use  the  sign  language.  Expert  teachers 
declare  that  with  young  children  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  use  the  sign 
language  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more  difficult  spoken  or  written 
English.  This  becomes  a  serious  handicap,  hinders  their  general  educa- 
tion, and  can  only  be  overcome  by  their  segregation  from  those  who  use 
signs  freely.  Present  accommodations  at  the  school  will  not  permit  this 
segregation.  A  new  "cottage"  for  the  newcomers,  slightly  removed  from 
the  other  buildings,  a  fully  equipped  home  for  these  beginners  until 
they  are  established  in  the  regular  speech  work  and  lip  reading,  is  greatly 
desired  by  the  superintendent  and  his  staff  of  experts.  As  soon  as  con- 
ditions due  to  the  war  will  permit,  a  "cottage"  for  30  or  40  pupils  should 
be  erected.  To  match  the  other  buildings  the  cost  will  probably  be  about 
$40,000. 

b.  To  maintain  the  teaching  staff  at  a  high  plane  of  efficiency,  and 
meet  the  extra  cost  of  supplies  for  the  institution.  Superintendent  E.  S. 
Tillinghast  needs  an  increase  in  appropriations  of  at  least  25  per  cent. 
The  salary  advances  required  to  obtain  the  required  expert  teachers  are 
phenomenal.  It  is  more  and  more  difficult  to  obtain  and  retain  a  suffi- 
cient and  efficient  working  staff.  Salaries  already  have  been  advanced 
about  15  per  cent  over  those  of  1916,  but  still  are  not  keeping  pace  with 
the  high  cost  of  living.  Another  advance  is  necessary  to  obtain  the  experts 
without  whom  the  institution  can  not  do  its  work.  The  list  of  supplies, 
containing  57  articles  of  common  use,  shows  a  present  price  of  65  per  cent 
higher  than  in  1916.  To  meet  the  needs  on  these  two  lines  the  budget  must 
"be  increased  at  least  25  per  cent.  In  spite  of  war  conditions,  or  rather 
because  of  them,  the  people  of  Oregon  will  gladly  grant  this  increase,  to 
maintain  at  its  best  this  useful  and  important  part  of  its  educational 
system. 


8.  Oreg^on  State  School  for  the  Blind,  Salem. 

This  institution  began  its  separate  existence  in  1872,  when 
the  Legislature  first  appropriated  money  for  the  education  of 
the  bhnd.  The  school  is  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
city  of  Salem,  where  it  has  beautiful  and  commodious  grounds, 
convenient  buildings  and  suitable  apparatus  for  the  instruction 
of  its  students.  The  Oregon  Blue  Book  says:  "The  primary 
object  of  the  Oregon  State  School  for  the  Blind  is  to  furnish 
the  blind  children  of  the  State  with  the  best  known  facilities 
for  acquiring  a  thorough  education,  and  to  train  them  in  some 
useful  profession  or  manual  art  by  means  of  which  they  may 
assist  in  contributing  to  their  own  support  after  leaving  school. 
In  its  aims  and  objects  the  school  is  piurely  educational."  One 
of  the  reports  of  the  superintendent  states :  "The  Oregon  Insti- 
tute for  the  Blind  is  an  educational  institution  in  every  sense  of 
the  term,  and,  not,  as  some  suppose,  an  asylum  or  hospital  for 
the  care  of  the  afflicted." 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  29 

Children  who  are  residents  of  the  State  are  entitled  to  the 
benefits  of  the  school  free  of  expense.  Children  who  are  not 
residents  of  the  State  may  be  received  on  the  payment  of  $250 
annually  in  advance.  Pupils  are  received  at  any  time  except 
during  vacation.  The  best  time  for  a  pupil  to  enter  is  at  the 
opening  of  school,  the  last  of  September.  Parents  should 
endeavor  to  get  their  children  into  school  while  they  are  young. 
It  is  advisable  to  enter  the  child  at  six  years  of  age. 

The  conditions  of  admission  are:  First,  insufficient  vision 
to  secure  an  education  in  the  public  schools ;  second,  ability  to 


SCHOOL  FOR  THE  BLIND,   SALEM 

receive  intellectual,  physical,  and  moral  training ;  third,  willing- 
ness to  conform  to  necessary  rules  and  regulations;  fourth, 
good  moral  character.  Literary,  musical,  industrial,  and  moral 
courses  of  study  are  taught;  and  the  physical  needs  of  the 
pupils  are  met  by  open  air  exercises  and  daily  drills  in  the 
gymnasium. 

The  promised  attendance  for  the  coming  year  is  above  40. 
The  school  and  its  work  should  be  better  known  to  the  people 
of  the  State,  and  the  attendance  greatly  increased.  Various 
matters  required  for  the  improvement  of  the  school  are  asked 
for  by  the  superintendent,  and  should  be  gladly  supplied  by  the 
people  of  the  State  through  the  Legislature. 


30  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Staffs  of  Workers.  Child-caring  institutions  have  char- 
acters and  may  be  said  to  almost  possess  personalities.  They 
are  made  and  judged  more  by  their  human  working  forces  than 
by  their  physical  plants.  The  staff  has  been  called  the  soul  of 
an  institution.  Upon  the  institution  under  whose  names  it  serves 
the  staff  sets  the  stamp  of  its  own  character  and  combined 
personality.    Its  spirit  and  its  influence  dominate. 

This  fact  makes  the  appointment  of  officers,  teachers,  and 
other  employes  in  all  institutions,  but  especially  in  those  under 
public  management,  a  matter  of  grave  responsibility.  It  often 
happens  that  poor  and  untrained  workers  lower  the  tone  and 
efficiency  of  an  institution  until  there  is  a  scandal,  and  an 
"investigation"  becomes  necessary.  Carefully  selected,  trained 
workers  are  the  only  basis  for  institutional  success.  Good 
physical  plants  are  desirable ;  good  staffs  are  necessities. 

It  has  been  known  in  eastern  states  that  staffs  of  important 
institutions  were  made  up  of  political  appointees,  who  without 
previous  training  or  experience  were  given  responsible  posi- 
tions as  pay  for  partisan  service.  Some  of  these  officials  were 
talented,  finely  educated,  and  highly  respectable,  but  as  unfit 
for  the  duties  they  assumed  as  a  country  school  teacher  would 
be  for  the  presidency  of  a  university.  Most  of  them  failed 
miserably;  a  few,  after  bitter  experiences  never  made  public, 
won  success  at  State  expense.  All  dwelt  officially  under  the 
sword  of  Damocles,  and  probably  were  superceded  by  similar 
groups  at  the  close  of  biennial  periods.  No  argument  is  needed 
to  show  the  social  and  economical  evil  of  such  methods.  The 
building  of  institutional  staffs  should  be  on  the  following 
plan : 

a.  All  appointments  should  be  made  on  the  basis  of  merit,  training,  and 
experience;  and  politics  and  partisanship  should  have  no  place  in  the 
selection  of  employes  for  child-caring  institutions. 

b.  If  workers  are  thus  selected,  continuity  of  service  gives  additional 
efficiency.  In  some  eastern  states,  in  regard  to  some  positions,  it  is  held 
that  less  than  five  years  of  continuous  service  is  unprofitable. 

c.  Trained  and  experienced  employes  who  have  given  satisfactory 
service  for  two  or  more  years,  should  have  their  worth  recognized  by  an 
advancing  scale  of  salaries,  proportioned  to  their  positions  and  responsi- 
bilities, to  reach  a  maximum  at  perhaps  the  sixth  year. 

The  Statistical  Tables.  The  general  statistical  table  for  the 
public  institutions  immediately  follows.  It  is  in  six  sections, 
each  of  which  is  a  table  complete  in  itself.    The  sections  cover 


THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS  31 

general  matters,  property  investments,  annual  maintenance, 
various  averages,  the  numbers  of  children  served,  and  the  dis- 
position of  these  children.  Any  one  tracing  an  institution 
through  these  sections  from  A  to  F,  will  obtain  35  points  of 
information,  and  a  reasonably  clear  idea  of  its  character  and 
work.  Study  of  the  group  totals  will  give  broader  notions  as 
to  the  State's  possessions  and  work  along  these  lines.  Perhaps 
these  tables  may  serve  at  least  three  purposes:  First,  give  a 
resume  of  present  conditions  and  activities ;  second,  be  a  basis 
for  future  comparisons  in  regard  to  progress  and  improvement ; 
third,  provide  forms  for  later  tabluations  along  similar  lines. 


32  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

OREGON    CHILD-CARING   AGENCIES    AND    INSTITUTIONS 
Table   I — Institutions    under    Public    Management  Section    A — General 


Year 
of 

Found- 
ing 

Statis- 
tics for 
Year 
Ending 

Beneficiaries 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Class 

Sex 

Age    Limits    for 

Reception 

Discharge 

COUNTY: 

Child-placing-  Agrency 

1.  Portland  —  Home-placing 
Dept.    Juvenile   Court 

1916 

5/31 
18 

Dep. 
&Del. 

Both 

Infants 
to  16  yrs. 

Boys  21  yrs. 
Girls  18  yrs. 

General  Institution 

2.  Portland — Frazer       Home 
(Mult.  Co.  Juvenile  Court) 

1906 

12/31 
17 

Dep. 
«&Del. 

Both 

3  to  18  yrs. 

Both  sexes 
21  years 

Institutions  for 
Delinquents 
3.  Portland  —  Industrial 
Farm      for      Boys       (The 
Ranch)     

1918 

7/31 
18 

Del. 

Boys 

12  to  17  yrs. 

21  years 

STATE: 

Institutions  for 
Delinquents 

4,  Salem — S  t  a  t  e     Training 
School    for    Boys    

5.  Salem — State       Industrial 
School  for  Girls .., 

1891 
1913 

12/31 

17 
12/31 

17 

Del. 
Del. 

Boys 
Girls 

12  to  17  yrs. 
12  to  17  yrs. 

21  years 
18  years 

Institution  for  Defectives 

6.  Salem — State     Institution 
for  Feeble-minded  

1908 

12/31 
17 

Def. 

Both 

From  5 
years  up 

No  limit 

Table  I — Institutions  under  Public  Management 


Section  B — Property 


Capac- 

Cost  of 
Plant 
Per  Bed 

Value  of  Property 

Agencies  and  Institutions                      \  ^^^  °' 
j  Build- 
lings 

Value  of    1    Value  of 
Grounds    :    Buildings 

Total  Value 
of  Property 

COUNTY: 

Child-placingr  Ag-ency 

1.  Portland  —  Home-placing    Dept. 
Juvenile   Court   . 

Has 
none 

70 

20 

(Usesc 

$     429 

2,550 

ffices  in  Countv  Cour 

thouse) 

General  Institution 

2.  Portland — Frazer    Home     (Mult. 
Co.  Juvenile  Court) 

Institution  for  Delinquents 

3.  Portland — Industrial    Farm    for 
Boys   (The  Ranch)  

1 
$   20,000 

43,000 

$   10,000 
8,000 

$   30,000 
51.000 

Total  county  

....90 

■    140 
50 

425 
615 

$     900 

$1,786 
1,500 

741 

$   63,000 

$100,000 
9,000 

95,000 

$   18,000 

$150,000 
66,000 

220,000 

$   81,000 

$250,000 
75,000 

STATE: 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

4.  Salem — State     Training     School 
for   Boys   

5.  Salem — State    Industrial    School 
for     Girls     

Institution  for  Defectives 

6.  Salem  —  State      Institution      for 
Feeble-minded    

315.000 

Total  state 

$1,041 

$204,000 

$436,000 

$640,000 

Grand  total  public  insts 

705 

$1,023 

$267,000 

$454,000 

$721,000 

THE  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 


33 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING  AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  I — Institutions  under  Public  Management  Section  C — Maintenance 


Annual  Expenses                          |      Public  Funds 

Agencies   and  Institutions 

Total 
Exp. 

Per 
Capita 

Salaries 

Amotuit 
Received 

Per 

Amount 

Per 
Capita 

Cent 
of 

^:xp. 

COUNTY: 

ChUd-placinjr  Agrency 

1.  Portland    — ^^  H  o  m  e-placing 

$      1,990 
8,547 
1,400 

*$      7 
342 
t 

$   1,740 

3,900 

625 

•$      6 
156 
t--. 

$      1,990 
8,547 
1,400 

100 

General    Institution 

2.  Portland — F  r  a  z  e  r      Home, 
(Mult.    Co.   Juvenile  Court).... 
Institution  for  Delinquents 

3.  Portland — Industrial       Farm 
for  Boys    (The  Ranch) 

100 
100 

Total    County    

STATE: 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

4.  Salem — S  tate    Training 
School  for  Boys  

5.  Salem — State  Industrial 
School  for  Girls  

$   11,937 

$   36,544 
15,981 

79,800 

t$342 

$292 
381 

250 

$   6,265 

$13,924 
5.262 

30,143 

$$156 

$111 
125 

9'4 

$   11,937 

$   36,544 
15,981 

79,800 

100 

100 
100 

Institution  for  Defectives 

6.  Salem — State  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded  

100 

Total  state  

$132,325 

$272 

$49,329 

$101 

$132,325 

100 

Grand  total  public  Insts. 

$144,262 

§$275     1  $55,594 

§$102    1  $144,262 

100 

Table  I— Institutions  under  Public  Management 


Section  D — Averages 


Type  of 
Housing 

Average 
Percent 
Capacity 
In  Use 

Average  Numbers 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Cliildren 
In  Care 

Regular 
Employes 

Children 
Per  Employe 

COUNTY: 

CUld-placinsr    JLgencj 

1.  Portland  —  Home-placing 

Dept.    Juvenile   Court 

General  Institution 

2.  P  o  r  1 1  a  n  d — Frazer    Home 
(Mult.  Co.  Juvenile  Court).... 
Institution  for  Delinquents 

3.  Portland — Industrial       Farm 
for  Bqys    (The  Ranch)    

No 
Bldg. 

Cong. 

Cott. 

6 

25 

8 

2 
5 
2 

3 

36 
40 

5 

4 

Total    county   

Cong. 
Cong. 

Large 
Cott. 

76 

89 
84 

1199 

39 

125 
42 

320 

9 

22 

8 

56 

4.3 

STATE: 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

4.  Salem — State  Training  School 
for  Boys  

5.7 

5.  Salem  —  State      Industrial 
School  for  Girls  

5.3 

Institution  for  Defectives 

6.  Salem — State  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded  

5.7 

Total    state    

1195 

487 

86 

5.7 

Grand   total   public   Insts. 

526 

95 

5.5 

Per  capitas  based  on  entire  number  handled  by  the  department. 

In  operation  only  three  months;  per  capitas  omitted. 

Frazer  Home  only;  others  omitted  as  special. 

State  institutions  and  Frazer  Home  only  included  for  per  capitas. 

Based  oh  1917  capacity  of  institution;  same  carried  into  total. 


34 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING   AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  I — Institutions  under  Public  Management       Section  E — Children  Served 


Religious  Affiliation                    Children  in  Institutions 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Of  Insti- 
tutions 

Of  Children 

In  Insti- 
tution 
Begin- 
ning of 
Year 

Beceived 

During 

Year 

Catholic 

Non- 
Catholic 

Care 

During 

Year 

COUNTY: 

Child-placlnjr  Affency 

1.  Portland  — Home-placing 

Dept.   Juvenile  Court 

General  Instltntion 

2.  P  o  r  1 1  a  n  d —  Frazer   Home, 
(Mult.    Co.   Juvenile   Court).... 
Institution  for  DeUnquents 

3.  Portland  —  Industrial     Farm 
for  Boys  (The  Ranch) 

Nonsec. 
Nonsec. 
Nonsec. 

25 

26 

6 

265 

•482 

16 

10 
20 

280 

488 

22 

290 

508 

22 

Total    county      

Nonsec. 
Nonsec. 

Nonsec. 

57 

43 

8 

30 

763 

271 
69 

320 

30 

118 

47 

315 

790 

196 
30 

35 

820 

STATE: 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

4.  Sale  m — S  t  a  t  e       Training 
School  for  Boys 

314 

5.  Sale  m— S  t  a  t  e    Industrial 
School  for  Girls  

77 

Institution  for  Defectives 
6.  Salem — State  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded  

350 

Total  state 

81 

660 

480 

261 

741 

Grand  total  public  insts 

138 

1,423 

510 

1,051 

1,561 

Table  I — Institutions  under  Public  Mang't.     Section  F — Disposition  of  Children 


Agencies  and  Institutions 

Placed  in 

Family 

Homes 

Returned 
to  Kin  or 
Friends 

Died 

Disposed 
of  Other 
wise 

lu  Insti- 
tution at 
Close  of 
Year 

Under 
Supervi- 
sion at 
Close  of 
Year 

COUNTY: 

Child-placinsr  Ajfency 

1.  Portland   —    Horn  e-placing 
Dept.   Juvenile  Court 

206 

41 
241 

4 

39 

t217 
8 

4 
50 
10 

142 

General  Institution 

2.  P  6  r  1 1  a  n  d — Frazer    Home, 
(Mult.   Co.   Juvenile   Court)—. 
Institution  for  Delinquents 

3.  Portland — Industrial      Home 
for  Bovs    (The   Ranch) 

Total  county  

206 

50 
6 

286 

108 
2 

13 

264 

31 
25 

64 

125 

44 

321 

142 

STATE: 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

4.  Salem — S  tate   Training 

176 

5.  Salem — State  Industrial 
School  for  Girls 

35 

Institution  for  Defectives 

6.  Salem — State  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded 

16 

... 

Total   state               .  . 

56 

123 

16 

56 

490 

211 

Grand  total  public  insts 

262 

409 

16 

320 

554 

353 

*  There  were  twenty-six  Catholic  children  among  the  186  committed  county 
wards;  no  history  sheets  are  kept  of  cases  only  assigned  to  the  Home 
for  detention. 

t  At  least  113  of  these  were  placed  in  families  by  the  Home-placing  de- 
partment. 


Ill 

THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 

IN  its  remedial  measures  society  has  to  do  with  the  orphan, 
the  deserted,  the  delinquent,  the  mentally  or  physically 
deficient,  and  the  children  of  the  very  poor.  The  mere 
statement  of  these  classes  really  sums  up  the  causes  underlying 
the  necessity  for  social  action. 

The  private  child-caring  institutions  established  in  Oregon 
for  the  shelter  and  support  of  these  classes  are  15  in  number, 
five  of  them  under  Roman  Catholic  and  ten  under  nonsectarian 
control.  Most  of  them  are  located  in  the  city  of  Portland,  and 
the  remainder  are  in  the  vicinity  of  that  city.  They  have  an 
aggregate  capacity  for  over  1,100  children,  and  have  invested 
in  them  over  $2,000,000. 

These  fifteen  institutions  cover  quite  fully  although  not 
adequately  the  classes  above  mentioned,  except  the  physically 
defective,  for  whom  no  orthopedic  hospital  is  provided.  In 
this  section  the  institutions  are  so  outlined  that  even  the  casual 
reader  may  obtain  a  good  general  idea  of  the  work  and  char- 
acter of  each,  and  the  more  diligent  student  by  the  careful 
observation  of  the  six  sections  of  Table  II,  found  on  later  pages, 
may  secure  many  additional  facts  and  make  numerous  sugges- 
tive comparisons.  The  institutions  are  treated  in  the  same 
order  as  they  appear  in  the  tables — alphabetically  by  location, 
in  groups  according  to  function. 

1.  St.  Mary's  Home  for  Boys,  Beaverton. 

Founded,  1889.  For  the  care  of  orphan  and  dependent  boys 
from  six  to  16  years  of  age.  An  institution  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  The  site  contains  over  300  acres  of  land, 
largely  in  cultivation,  and  valued  at  $75,000.  The  main  home 
building  is  a  large  frame  structure,  three  stories  and  basement, 
of  the  regular  congregate  type,  mainly  modern  in  equipment, 
and  valued  at  $100,000.  The  total  value  of  the  property  is 
$175,000.  Monsignor  James  Rauw  is  superintendent.  The 
working  force  consists  of  15  Sisters  of  the  Order  of  St.  Mary, 
and  six  men  including  the  superintendent.  There  is  a  head 
farmer,  and  most  of  the  men  are  his  assistants. 

35 


36 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


The  institution  contains  only  boys  of  school  age,  and  does 
its  own  grammar  school  work,  to  and  including  the  eighth 
grade,  and  then  sends  its  advanced  pupils  to  the  Beaverton 
high  school.  There  is  always  at  least  one  trained  nurse  among 
the  workers.  The  boys  appeared  to  be  strong,  healthy  and  well 
nourished.  During  the  year  1917  the  institution  cared  for  a 
total  of  196  boys,  of  whom  129  were  Catholic  and  67  were 
Protestant.  The  average  number  of  boys  in  care  during  the 
year  was  130 ;  the  total  cost  of  care  was  $23,592 ;  and  the  aver- 


ST.  MARY'S  HOME  FOR  BOYS,   BEAVERTON 


age  per  capita  cost  was  $175.  General  conditions  are  as  good 
as  can  be  expected  in  a  building  of  this  kind,  but  a  few  points 
could  be  greatly  improved. 

a.  Several  of  the  dormitories  are  crowded,  having  more  beds  than  the 
capacity  of  the  rooms  can  properly  accommodate. 

b.  Recreation  equipment  and  facilities  are  small  and  crude  and  should 
be  increased,  and  a  play  director  provided. 

c.  The  instruction  of  the  older  boys  in  farm  and  dairy  methods  should 
be  more  emphasized,  and  facilities  for  manual  and  vocational  training 
should  be  increased  and  utilized.  It  is  fair  to  say  that  in  time  this  item 
will  be  arranged  for  by  the  aid  of  the  Levi  Anderson  Industrial  School, 
which  will  come  into  operation  "after  the  war." 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS  37 

2.  Levi  Anderson  Industrial  School  for  Boys,  Beaverton. 

Founded,  1918.  For  the  care  and  industrial  training  of 
dependent  boys  from  12  to  21  years  of  age.  An  institution  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Established  but  not  yet  in  opera- 
tion. The  site  contains  over  300  acres  of  land,  partly  in  cultiva- 
tion, and  valued  at  $70,000.  The  location  is  immediately  adja- 
cent to  the  farm  site  of  St.  Mary's  Home  for  Boys,  to  which  in 
a  sense  it  is  to  be  a  supplement,  taking  the  permanent  wards  of 
St.  Mary's  at  12  to  14  years  of  age  and  giving  to  them  special 
training  in  agriculture,  horticulture,  dairying,  and  a  number 
of  trades.  In  addition  to  the  site,  the  prospective  school 
possesses  an  endowment  of  $200,000. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  military  service  in  the  ranks  or  with 
the  Knights  of  Columbus  has  temporarily  taken  away  many  of 
the  younger  Brothers  and  Catholic  laymen  suitable  for  workers 
and  teachers  in  such  a  school,  and  because  of  the  high  cost  of 
building  under  present  conditions,  the  erection  of  the  plant  has 
been  deferred  until  after  the  war. 


3.  Christie  Home  for  Orphan  Girls,  Oswego. 

Founded,  1859.  For  the  care  of  orphan  and  dependent  girls 
from  six  to  18  years  of  age.  An  institution"  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  The  site  contains  125  acres  of  land,  mostly  in 
cultivation,  and  valued  at  $62,000.  The  main  home  building 
is  a  fine  brick  structure,  three  stories  and  basement,  with  wide 
halls  and  many  large  windows,  is  mainly  modem  in  equipment, 
and  is  valued  at  $275,000.  Total  value  of  property,  $337,000. 
Sister  Superior  Mary  Elmire  is  assisted  by  about  15  Sisters 
of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Names,  and  a  number  of  teaching 
Sisters  from  the  nearby  normal  school  of  the  order. 

At  one  side  is  a  building  whose  first  floor  is  used  as  the 
institution  laundry,  above  which  are  quarters  arranged  as  a 
detention  cottage  for  newcomers.  So  far  as  inquiry  has 
revealed  the  situation,  this  is  the  only  child-caring  institution 
in  Oregon  that  as  a  regular  thing  uses  a  separate  detention 
cottage  for  children  on  their  arrival,  to  safeguard  the  main 
body  from  possible  contagion  and  epidemics. 

The  institution  school  covers  all  of  the  grammar  grades, 
with  special  attention  to  music,  after  which  any  promising 


38  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

older  pupils  are  sent  to  suitable  Catholic  academies  or  special 
schools.  The  school  work  is  made  excellent  and  interesting 
by  the  number  and  variety  of  teachers  possible  on  account  of 
nearness  to  the  normal  school,  and  by  supplying  parochial 
school  privileges  to  all  Catholic  families  within  reaching  dis- 
tance of  the  institution.  This  last  keeps  the  girls  in  touch  with 
the  girls  of  ordinary  families  and  family  life,  which  is  very 
desirable. 

The  girls  seemed  to  be  happy,  healthy  and  well  nourished. 
A  few  of  those  in  care  were  noticed  who  are  evidently  of  low 
mentality;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  such  are  obliged  to 


CHRISTIE  HOME  FOR  ORPHAN   GIRLS,   OSWEGO 

remain  in  an  institution  intended  and  well  fitted  to  care  for 
and  educate  those  who  are  normal,  because  they  can  not  be 
provided  for  at  the  State  Institution  for  Feeble-minded.  The 
buildings,  the  furnishings,  and  all  observable  phases  of  the 
work  done,  were  above  the  average,  and  deserve  commenda- 
tion. During  the  year  1917  the  home  cared  for  a  total  of  189 
girls,  of  whom  130  were  Catholic  and  59  were  Protestant.  The 
average  number  of  girls  in  care  was  130;  the  total  cost  of 
maintenance  was  $18,314;  and  the  average  per  capita  cost  of 
care  was  $141.  While  a  typical  congregate  orphanage, 
this  institution  is  of  high  grade,  and  visitors  are  favorably 
impressed. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


39 


4.  St.  Agnes'  Foundling  Asylum,  Parkplace. 

Founded,  1902.  For  the  care  of  dependent  infants  and 
young  children  up  to  ten  years  of  age.  An  institution  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church.  The  site  contains  50  acres,  under 
high  cultivation,  and  valued  at  $50,000.  The  main  building  is 
a  brick  structure,  originally  erected  for  the  use  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  care  for  large  girls,  and  is  now  old 
and  somewhat  unsuited  for  its  present  work,  but  is  too  large 
and  valuable  to  give  up  or  replace  for  some  time  to  come.  A 
second  building,  frame,  two  stories,  is  used  as  a  school  house, 
playrooms,  and  dormitories  for  the  older  children,  who  take 


■  ■■ ■■"■'^■"■' ■■■■-■---^•—     1 

A 

k,  Mt 

"•.      '^ 

^^^-^liil 

L 

.r'0m 

J 

ST.  AGNES'  FOUNDLING  ASYLUM,  PARKPLACE 


their  meals  in  the  main  dining  room.  The  buildings  are  valued 
at  $60,000.  Total  value  of  property,  $110,000.  Sister  Superior 
M.  Camilles,  and  nine  other  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  about  six 
other  employes  are  the  working  force. 

Most  of  the  babies,  of  whom  there  were  about  25  in  care 
when  the  institution  was  visited,  appear  to  be  amply  fed  and 
tenderly  cared  for.  A  few,  as  might  be  expected  when  they 
come  mainly  from  very  unforable  conditions,  were  anemic  and 
of  unfavorable  prospects.  About  two-thirds  of  the  children 
are  from  homes  where  either  one  or  both  of  the  parents  are 
dead;  the  other  third  are  real  foundlings  and  other  children 
sent  in  by  the  various  Juvenile  Courts  throughout  the  State 
because  of  parental  neglect  or  desertion.  The  older  children 
were  in  fairly  good  condition. 


40  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

A  number  of  the  children  in  this  institution  also  are  feeble- 
minded, and  ought  to  be  provided  for  in  the  State  Institution. 
Two  or  more  of  the  Sisters  are  trained  nurses.  There  were 
only  four  deaths  in  this  large  group  of  small  children  during 
the  year  1917,  which  speaks  well  for  their  efficiency.  Con- 
sidering the  defects  of  the  plant,  the  work  seems  to  be  excel- 
lently done.  Fault-finding  is  easy ;  the  care  of  bottle-fed  babies 
in  an  institution  nursery  is  one  of  the  hardest  tasks  in  the  whole 
realm  of  child  welfare  work.  If  possible  the  writer  would  do 
away  with  institution  nurseries  entirely,  and  board  out  all 
dependent  infants  in  carefully  selected  and  supervised  families. 

During  1917  the  institution  cared  for  a  total  of  155  children, 
of  whom  99  were  Catholic  and  56  were  Protestant.  There  were 
about  20  small  babies  on  hand,  and  about  73  children  from  one 
to  ten  years  old,  making  an  average  in  care  of  93;  the  total 
cost  of  maintenance  for  the  year  was  $12,000 ;  and  the  average 
per  capita  cost  of  care  was  $129.  Without  entering  into  details 
as  to  observed  needs,  the  writer  recommends  as  follows : 

a.  That  special  efforts  be  made  by  the  friends  of  the  institution  to 
raise  additional  funds  for  its  support.  There  are  evidences  of  too  close 
economy;  and  some  deficiencies  in  supplies  and  equipment  are  apparent. 
We  have  no  doubt  that  conditions  would  be  bettered  if  a  larger  income 
were  provided. 

b.  The  attention  of  generous  Catholic  parishes  should  be  called  to  a 
shortage  in  infants'  garments  and  bedding,  that  those  interested  in  the 
work  may  have  a  chance  to  donate  abundant  supplies. 

c.  The  solid  brick  building  can  not  readily  be  modified  in  its  arrange- 
ment, but  it  is  easily  possible  to  improve  some  of  the  badly  worn  floors,  to 
add  to  light  and  ventilation  by  cutting  in  a  few  new  windows,  and  perhaps 
some  special  equipment  for  the  care  of  babies  would  be  welcomed  by  the 
Sisters.  Much  of  the  furnishing  has  been  in  use  a  long  time,  and  should 
be  replaced.  All  of  which  spells  money,  and  calls  for  liberal  action  on  the 
part  of  friends  of  the  institution. 

5.  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Portland. 

Founded,  1902.  For  the  care  and  training  of  delinquent  girls 
from  eight  to  18  years  of  age.  An  institution  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church.  The  site  is  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city, 
and  contains  10  acres,  valued  on  too  conservative  a  basis  at 
$16,000.  We  have  no  doubt  that  if  put  on  the  market  for 
residence  lots,  the  tract  would  bring  several  times  that  sum. 
The  "House"  itself  is  a  new  building,  a  fine  three-story  steel 
frame  and  brick  structure,  with  steel  doors  and  stairways  and 
concrete  floors,  all  in  every  way  as  fire-proof  in  construction 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


41 


as  possible.  It  is  the  best  building  in  these  respects  for  child- 
caring  work  in  the  State  of  Oregon.  Its  high  qualities  were  a 
matter  of  surprise  and  pleasure  to  the  writer  and  the  members 
of  the  Commission,  who  together  visited  the  institution.  The 
Sisters  modestly  valued  the  building  at  $130,000.  In  our 
judgment  it  could  not  now  be  erected  for  less  than  $200,000. 
But  in  accord  with  the  wish  of  the  Sisters,  the  total  value  of 
this  fine  property  is  tabulated  at  $146,000. 


HOUSE   OF  THE  GOOD   SHEPHERD,   PORTLAND 

There  are  no  barred  windows,  and  there  is  no  wall  or  fence 
around  the  building.  The  Sisters  depend  for  the  retention  of 
their  wayward  wards  upon  moral  suasion  and  personal  watch- 
fulness. Sister  Superior  Mary  Lucinda  Rose,  is  assisted  by 
14  other  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  four  paid  employes. 
The  girls,  all  of  whom  are  of  working  age,  either  aid  in  house- 
hold matters  or  work  in  the  commercial  laundry,  which  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  is  the  main  support  for  Houses  of 
the  Good  Shepherd.  Part  of  the  girls  work  in  the  forenoon  and 
attend  school  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  rest  reverse  the  work 
and  school  hours.     The  institution  provides  a  regular  school 


42  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

for  its  inmates,  to  and  including  the  eighth  grade.  A  piano, 
several  graphophones,  a  moving  picture  machine,  and  other 
amusement  features,  provide  recreation. 

Most  of  the  girls  are  sent  to  the  institution  by  Juvenile 
Courts  in  counties  other  than  Multnomah,  very  few  having 
been  received  from  Portland  and  its  vicinity  for  some  time. 
Some  wards  are  received  directly  from  parents  or  guardians. 
Several  of  the  girls  are  mentally  defective;  and  a  few  are 
afflicted  with  the  social  diseases.  Industrial  training  is  given 
in  plain  sewing,  art  needlework,  domestic  science,  and  general 
housekeeping.  Under  instruction  the  girls  make  their  own 
clothing,  including  very  attractive  "best"  dresses. 

During  the  year  1917  the  institution  cared  for  a  total  of 
155  inmates,  of  whom  37  were  Catholic  and  118  were  Protestant. 
The  large  proportion  of  Protestant  girls  in  this  Catholic  insti- 
tution is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  State  Industrial 
School  for  Girls,  with  a  capacity  for  only  50,  is  utterly  inade- 
quate for  the  needs  of  this  class,  and  many  Juvenile  Court 
Judges  have  committed  scores  to  this  institution  who  under 
different  circumstances  would  have  been  committed  elsewhere. 
The  average  number  of  girls  in  care  during  1917  was  83 ;  and 
as  the  capacity  of  the  building  is  150,  an  average  of  only  55  per 
cent  of  it  was  used  during  the  year.  The  total  cost  of  mainte- 
nance was  $14,200 ;  and  the  average  per  capita  cost  of  care  was 
$171.  The  amount  received  from  public  funds  was  only  $4,589, 
or  32  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  maintenance. 

In  Table  II  at  the  close  of  this  section,  it  will  be  noted  that 
the  Catholic  institutions  are  grouped  apart  from  the  ten  non- 
Catholic.  This  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  properly  crediting 
the  Catholic  people  of  Oregon  with  their  property  investments, 
working  forces,  and  numbers  of  children  served.  Nine  of  the 
ten  non-Catholic  private  child-caring  institutions  of  Oregon 
are  nonsectarian ;  the  tenth  is  under  the  control  of  the  Salvation 
Army,  which  is  almost  interdenominational. 

The  type  of  service  rendered,  the  numbers  of  children  in  the 
several  Catholic  institutions,  and  the  cost  of  care  of  both 
dependents  and  delinquents,  should  be  carefully  studied,  and 
compared  with  both  the  State  work  and  that  of  non-Catholic 
institutions.  This  study  presents  the  facts,  gathered  with  con- 
siderable pains,  and  leaves  the  comparisons  and  conclusions  to 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


43 


the  people  of  the  State.  The  writer  realizes  that  some  denom- 
inational antagonism  has  marred  the  situation  in  Oregon  in 
the  past,  but  believes  that  a  just  and  friendly  attitude  on  the 
part  of  all  concerned  will  permit  the  development  of  satis- 
factory solutions  of  all  the  problems  involved. 

The  ten  non-Catholic  institutions  will  next  be  outlined,  in 
the  order  in  which  they  appear  in  Table  II,  hereafter  to  be 
presented.. 

6.  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society,  Portland. 

Founded,  1885.  For  the  placing-out  in  families  of  dependent 
and  neglected  children,  and  ''to  champion  the  cause  of  any 
child  in  need  or  trouble."    The  organization  is  a  nonsectarian 


l^^'i^^ibi 

4 

Iprii^ 

m 

H 

BOYS'   AND  GIRLS'   AID   SOCIETY,   PORTLAND 

charitable  society,  under  the  control  of  a  self-perpetuating 
board,  and  does  a  state-wide  work,  which  has  had  legislative 
approval  and  the  cooperation  of  juvenile  courts  and  county  offi- 
cials for  many  years.  It  has  a  receiving  home  in  Portland  for 
the  temporary  care  of  children,  but  does  not  expect  to  give  to 
its  wards  continued  institutional  maintenance.  The  site  of 
the  home  is  a  block  of  land  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  The 
building  is  a  two  story  and  basement  frame  structure,  in  good 
repair  and  fairly  well  furnished,  with  a  capacity  for  70  chil- 
dren. It  also  contains  the  offices  of  the  society.  The  property 
is  valued  at  $48,500,  in  addition  to  which  the  society  has 
$130,500  in  general  endowment.  Total  value  of  property, 
$179,000. 


44  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

The  work  of  this  agency  is  mainly  with  those  children  who 
are  entirely  homeless,  or  who  for  various  reasons  are  taken 
by  the  courts  temporarily  or  permanently  away  from  cruel  or 
neglectful,  otherwise  unworthy,  or  criminal  parents.  It  receives 
children  from  three  to  18  years  of  age.  The  younger  children, 
up  to  about  eight  years,  are  generally  placed  in  free  homes  with 
the  expectation  of  full  adoption;  the  older  children  also  are 
mainly  placed  in  free  homes,  but  a  much  smaller  part  of  them 
are  adopted.  Some  temporary  care  cases  are  placed  in  board- 
ing homes.  For  the  receiving  home  and  the  field  work  of  the 
society  from  seven  to  ten  workers  are  constantly  employed. 

During  the  year  ending  April  30,  1918,  the  agency  had  in 
direct  care  a  total  of  233  children.  Of  these  150  were  placed- 
out  in  family  homes,  48  were  returned  to  relatives,  21  were  dis- 
posed of  otherwise  and  14  remained  on  hand  at  the  year's  close. 
At  that  time  it  also  had  485  children  in  family  homes,  not 
adopted,  over  whom  it  exercised  its  watchful  supervision.  The 
cost  of  the  work  for  the  year  designated  was  $18,593. 

Per  capitas  in  the  work  of  child-placing  agencies  are  based 
on  the  entire  number  in  care  during  the  year.  Ignoring  the 
general  supervision  of  the  placed-out  children,  which  is  done 
by  the  same  agents  who  handle  those  in  direct  care,  the  per 
capita  cost  of  this  society  for  the  year  was  $80.  Allowing  $10 
per  child  for  the  expense  of  supervision  of  the  485  children  in 
the  field,  it  costs  an  average  of  about  $60  for  each  for  the  233 
children  in  direct  care.  The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  is  well 
up  to  the  average  of  such  societies  in  its  annual  expenditures 
in  these  respects,  but  in  all  states  there  is  a  movement  for  more 
intensive  work  in  child-placing,  especially  along  the  line  of 
adequate  supervision.  For  the  direct  care  or  first  year  work, 
the  average  expense  of  several  such  societies  in  other  states  is 
$75.  To  adequately  supervise  the  children  placed-out  in  family 
homes,  it  is  estimated  that  $25  per  year  per  child  is  required. 

This  society,  unlike  any  other  of  its  kind  known  to  the 
writer,  confines  its  attention  to  children  of  three  years  or  older. 
Instead  of  leaving  the  placing-out  of  babies  and  little  tots  to 
the  various  institutions,  and  to  the  commercial  maternity 
homes,  it  should  enlarge  its  work  to  include  these  children.  It 
is  a  singular  and  most  undesirable  thing  that  several  institu- 
tions in  Oregon  are  placing-out  children  without  field  agents 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS     .  45 

for  investigation  of  homes  or  after-supervision  of  children; 
while  the  only  organization  maintaining  a  field  force  for  such 
work  omits  the  largest  and  most  essential  part  of  it.  It  is  time 
to  change  this  astonishing  method  for  a  bej;ter  one.  Coopera- 
tion is  the  order  of  the  day.  The  institutions  and  the  child- 
placing  agencies  should  work  together.  Elsewhere  will  be 
found  a  discussion  of  child-placing  in  families,  with  special 
reference  to  the  Oregon  situation. 

The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  has  a  good  plant  for  its 
work,  fine,  but,  so  far  as  support  goes,  utterly  inadequate 
endowment,  stands  for  child-placing  by  the  best  modern 
methods  but  lags  some  in  practice  and  has  several  very 
important  needs. 

a.  A  steam  heating  plant  for  the  receiving  home.  During  the  coldest 
part  of  the  year,  the  two  hot  air  furnaces  are  insufficient  to  provide  heat 
for  the  upper  stories,  and  the  children  suffer.  The  expenditure  of  $2,000 
to  $3,000  for  a  new  plant  would  remedy  this  defect. 

b.  The  force  of  office  and  especially  field  workers  is  too  small  for  the 
proper  reception  of  new  children,  the  investigation  of  homes,  the  correct 
placement  of  wards,  and  the  supervision  of  the  485  children  now  in  the 
field.  The  work  must  be  done  on  commendable  lines  or  courts  will  be 
justified  in  refusing  cooperation  and  the  public  in  declining  to  give 
financial  support  to  the  society. 

c.  The  society  should  most  earnestly  and  in  the  most  friendly  spirit 
seek  close  cooperative  relations  with  all  of  the  institutions  within  the 
State  caring  for  dependent  children;  and  arrange  if  possible  to  do  all  of 
their  child-placing  for  them,  especially  the  placing-out  of  babies  and  very 
small  children,  or  at  least  to  use  its  field  force  for  the  supervision  of  all 
children  placed-out  by  private  institutions. 

d.  To  provide  the  necessary  funds  to  support  an  enlarged  and  efficient 
force  of  workers,  the  society  should  inaugurate  and  permanently  continue 
a  financial  campaign  covering,  like  its  work,  all  parts  of  the  State.  The 
writer  believes  that  a  thorough  campaign  of  this  kind,  showing  to  the 
people  the  kind  and  quality  of  work  done  and  its  importance  to  child 
welfare  within  the  commonwealth,  would  bring  ample  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  society. 

7.  Albertina  Kerr  Nursery  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1912.  For  the  care  of  dependent  infants  and  small 
children.  One  of  three  child-caring  institutions  in  Oregon 
established  and  managed  by  the  Pacific  Coast  Rescue  and 
Protective  Society.  The  plant  is  an  adapted  residence  property 
in  the  central  part  of  Portland,  with  an  additional  cottage  on 
an  adjoining  lot,  used  as  a  dormitory  for  nurses.  The  plant  is 
not  owned  in  fee  simple  by  the  society,  but  free  use  of  it  is 
given  by  Alexander  H.  Kerr,  the  owner,  it  being  understood 
that  this  property  or  a  better  one  on  a  new  site  will  be  perman- 


46  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

ently  provided  by  his  generosity.  The  lots  are  very  valuable, 
being  worth  at  least  $100,000.  The  home,  which  was  Mr.  Kerr's 
former  residence,  with  its  nurses'  home,  is  valued  at  $15,000. 
Total  property  value,  $115,000.  This  is  tabulated  as  though 
fully  in  the  possession  of  the  society.  The  institution  cares  for 
infants  and  small  children  up  to  five  years  of  age.  Any  who 
remain  permanently  in  care  are  placed  out  for  adoption. 

Most  of  the  babies  are  received  on  court  orders,  although 
some  come  in  by  the  personal  application  of  parents,  especially 
unmarried  mothers.  A  few  are  the  children  of  wives,  homeless 
and  deserted  by  their  husbands.  The  society,  through  its 
superintendent.  Rev.  W.  G.  MacLaren,  does  regular  and  thor- 


ALBERTINA  KERR  NURSERY  HOME,  PORTLAND 

ough  case  work  in  reference  to  every  application  for  admis- 
sion, and  prosecutes  delinquent  fathers  whenever  it  is  possible. 
The  majority  of  the  children  return  to  relatives,  but  when  left 
to  the  care  of  the  society  and  placed-out  they  are  visited  faith- 
fully till  adoptions  are  completed,  after  which  the  adoptive 
parents  are  required  to  report  on  their  welfare  to  the  office 
each  Thanksgiving  until  the  children  reach  the  age  of  18  years. 
During  the  year  1917  the  institution  cared  for  a  total  of  83 
children.  Of  these  13  were  placed  in  family  homes,  20  were 
returned  to  kin,  one  died,  11  were  disposed  of  otherwise,  and  38 
remained  in  care  at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  society  is  super- 
vising 50  who  are  placed-out  in  families.  The  expense  of  the 
home  for  the  year  was  $8,255.  The  average  number  in  care 
was  35,  and  the  per  capita  cost  was  $236. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS  47 

In  connection  with  this  nursery  home  the  society  found  that 
many  babies  of  distinctly  subnormal  mentality  were  perman- 
ent wards.  Such  could  not  be  placed-out  in  homes,  as  it  was 
not  possible  nor  was  it  morally  permissible  to  place  a  feeble- 
minded child  where  a  normal  child  was  wanted.  The  State 
Institution  for  Feeble-minded  would  take  no  wards  under  five 
years  of  age.  There  was  no  place  in  Oregon  provided  for  such 
infantile  unfortunates.  Therefore,  this  society  felt  itself 
obliged  to  arrange  for  their  care  in  a  special  institution.  This 
work  will  be  specially  described  under  the  title,  Elizabeth 
Cottage  for  Feeble-minded. 

The  Albertina  Kerr  Home  seems  to  be  giving  excellent  care 
to  these  babies,  but  is  somewhat  hindered  by  the  deficiencies  of 
the  plant.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  relief  in  this  direction  can 
come  until  "after  the  war."  Special  recommendations  in  regard 
to  the  plant  are  omitted  because  of  the  peculiar  situation.  The 
nurses  and  workers  are  recruited  from  a  class  of  young  ladies 
who  are  preparing  for  general  missionary  and  social  work,  and 
are  of  a  higher  type  than  ordinary  employes  in  such  institu- 
tions. Their  salaries  also  are  arranged  on  a  missionary  basis, 
for  which  reason  the  expense  of  the  work  is  materially  lowered. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  workers  in  the  other  institutions  of 
this  society. 

8.  The  Baby  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1888.  For  the  care  of  infants  and  small  children 
up  to  three  years  of  age.  Under  the  control  of  a  nonsectarian 
board  of  ten  members.  The  site  of  the  institution  consists  of 
three  acres  of  land  in  the  southeast  part  of  Portland,  valued  at 
$29,500 ;  the  home  is  a  large  frame  structure,  two  stories,  mod- 
ern, well  equipped  for  service,  and  valued  at  $27,000.  In  addi- 
tion there  is  an  endowment  of  $45,500,  making  the  total 
property  value  $102,000. 

During  the  year  1917  the  home  cared  for  182  children.  Of 
these  22  were  placed-out  for  adoption,  46  were  returned  to  rela- 
tives, nine  died  at  the  institution,  51  were  disposed  of  other- 
wise, and  54  remained  in  care  at  the  close  of  the  year.  There 
were  13  children  placed-out  but  not  yet  adopted  at  the  year's 
close.  The  maintenance  expense  for  the  year  was  $16,529,  or 
per  capita  cost  of  $271  for  the  average  in  care.    It  is  estimated 


48 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


49 


that  five  per  cent  of  the  inmates  are  full  orphans,  30  per  cent 
half -orphans,  and  65  per  cent  have  both  parents  living.  Deser- 
tion, poverty,  separation,  sickness  and  death  of  parents  are 
causes  behind  the  reception  of  these  little  waifs  of  humanity 
by  the  institution.  The  home  received  $7,257  from  the  State 
during  the  year,  or  44  per  cent  of  its  expense  for  maintenance. 
Many  of  the  children  cared  for  are  left  permanently  in  the 
institution's  care  and  guardianship.  All  that  are  suitable  for 
such  action  are  placed-out  in  families  for  a  term  of  years,  con- 
stituting about  20  per  cent  of  the  number  in  care.  Those  sent 
out  go  for  six  months  on  approbation,  and  are  carefully  looked 
after  until  legally  adopted.  No  supervisory  or  visiting  agent 
is  employed,  and  the  watch  care  is  mainly  by  correspondence. 

9.  The  Children's  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1867.    For  the  care  of  orphans  and  other  destitute 
children.     A  nonsectarian  institution,  incorporated  as  "The 


THE  CHILDREN'S  HOME,  PORTLAND 


Home,"  and  controlled  by  an  elected  board  of  five  trustees  and 
the  twelve  managers  of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society.  The  institu- 
tion is  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  on  a  site  con- 
taining two  city  blocks.  The  site  is  valued  at  about  $15,000. 
The  home  building  was  erected  about  35  years  ago,  and  is  a 
large  old  fashioned  frame  congregate  structure,  three  stories, 
partly  modern  in  equipment,  and  kept  in  fairly  good  repair. 
Its  capacity  is  90  children,  and  "for  the  purposes  of  the  insti- 
tution" it  is  valued  at  $30,000,  although  as  it  is  unfit  for  any 
other  use  its  sale  price  would  certainly  be  less.    Total  value  of 


50  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

plant,  $45,000.  The  home  has  $275,000  in  productive  endow- 
ment. Total  value  of  property,  $320,000.  The  will  of  the  late 
Mrs.  P.  J.  Mann,  long  the  president  of  the  society,  contains  a 
bequest  of  $30,000  to  the  home,  which  is  not  counted  in  the 
above  endowment,  as  the  estate  is  not  yet  distributed. 

During  the  year  1917  the  home  cared  for  a  total  of  161 
children.  Of  these  78  were  returned  to  kin,  two  were  dis- 
posed of  otherwise,  and  81  remained  in  care  at  the  close  of  the 
year.  The  cost  of  maintenance  for  the  year  was  $14,295.  The 
average  in  care  was  83,  and  the  per  capita  cost  was  $172.  There 
are  13  regular  employes. 

This  institution  for  many  years  has  made  a  specialty  of  car- 
ing for  the  children  of  living  parents,  who  are  unable  to  pro- 
vide a  home  for  their  little  ones.  Many  of  these  are  able  after 
a  time  to  reestablish  homes  and  resume  care  of  their  children. 
These  parents  are  expected,  as  far  as  they  are  able,  to  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  their  children  while  cared  for  at  the 
home.  A  majority  of  those  in  care  are  thus  temporarily  or 
permanently  placed  in  the  home  by  living  parents,  who  must 
have  been  residents  of  Portland  for  at  least  six  months,  and 
be  deserving  of  aid.  Both  boys  and  girls  from  three  to  ten 
years  of  age  are  received.  This  line  of  work  may  be  called  the 
special  function  of  the  institution. 

The  officers  of  the  institution  plan  to  purchase  a  site  in 
another  part  of  the  city,  and  erect  on  it  a  modern  plant  for 
future  work.  On  account  of  the  war  it  is  likely  that  the  project 
will  be  indefinitely  postponed. 

Since  the  present  plant  in  all  probability  must  be  used  for 
several  years,  numerous  improvements  should  be  made  for  the 
better  care  of  the  children  served.  The  playgrounds  should  be 
made  more  attractive  and  fitted  with  suitable  equipment ;  the 
rear  block  of  ground,  now  a  grove  on  a  steep  sidehill,  should  be 
cleared  of  ''poison  oak,"  and  made  fit  for  the  children's  use; 
the  dining  room  should  be  refurnished,  and  backless  benches 
give  place  to  chairs,  and  other  homelike  furnishings.  Other 
very  desirable  improvements  can  be  made  at  small  cost. 

10.  Odd  Fellows'  Home  of  Oregon,  Portland. 

Founded,  1907.  For  the  care  of  the  dependent  children  of 
members  of  the  order  in  the  State  of  Oregon.    The  Children's 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS  51 

Cottage  is  a  part  of  the  general  institution  under  the  above 
name,  established  and  managed  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  for  all 
of  the  order's  dependents.  There  is  a  fine  tract  of  nearly  seven 
acres  of  land  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  city,  on  which  is 
a  large  main  building,  occupied  by  the  aged  and  infirm  depen- 
dents, and  at  some  distance  the  Children's  Cottage.  The  entire 
property  is  valued  at  $100,000.  As  the  children  constitute 
about  one-quarter  of  .the  entire  number  of  inmates,  25  per 
cent,  or  $25,000,  will  be  found  in  the  tables  accredited  to  their 
part  of  the  institution. 

The  Cottage  has  a  capacity  for  30  children,  and  is  well  fur- 
nished and  homelike.  During  the  year  ending  April  30,  1918, 
there  were  26  children  in  care.  Of  these  ten  were  returned  to 
relatives  during  the  year,  leaving  only  16  in  care  at  the  close 
of  the  year.  The  cost  of  the  service  was  $4,054.  The  average 
in  care  was  16,  and  the  per  capita  cost  was  $253.  While  this 
institution  can  not  be  called  upon  for  any  dependents  except 
those  related  to  the  order,  it  is  well  to  note  that  it  had  only  53 
per  cent  of  the  capacity  occupied  during  the  past  year. 

11.  The  Louise  Home,   Elwood  Station.    (Seven  miles  from 
Portland.) 

Founded,  1907.  For  the  care  of  girls,  women,  and  babies; 
especially  delinquent,  infectious  and  maternity  cases  among 
the  homeless  and  the  destitute.  Like  the  Albertina  Kerr 
Nursery  Home,  this  is  an  institution  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Rescue 
and  Protective  Society.  While  nonsectarian  it  is  essentially  a 
missionary  proposition,  both  in  its  work  and  spirit  and  in  the 
fact  that  its  workers  are  largely  recruited  from  those  who  are 
either  already  active  in  religious  and  social  work,  or  are  pre- 
paring for  such  service.  The  site  is  a  tract  of  nine  acres  about 
seven  miles  from  the  business  district  of  Portland,  at  Elwood 
Station.  The  home  is  a  frame  structure  with  a  capacity  for  40 
adults  and  about  ten  babies.    The  property  is  valued  at  $18,500. 

Many  of  the  inmates  are  received  under  court  order,  as  delin- 
quents. Others  are  rescued  under  conditions  of  special  destitu- 
tion, as  deserted  wives,  or  girls  abandoned  without  marriage. 
The  larger  part  are  very  young,  hardly  more  than  children 
themselves.  Through  its  superintendent.  Rev.  W.  G.  Mac- 
Laren,  the  society  makes  special  investigation  of  all  cases, 


52 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


follows  up  deserting  husbands  or  blameworthy  men,  prosecutes 
some,  others  are  made  to  see  the  errors  of  their  ways  and 
establish  a  legal  home,  and  in  general  the  name  of  the  society 
is  made  to  represent  its  activities. 

During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1918,  the  institution  cared 
for  a  total  of  177  inmates.  Of  these  38  returned  to  friends 
and  relatives,  two  died  at  the  home,  97  were  disposed  of  other- 
wise, and  40  remained  in  care  at  the  close  of  the  year.  There 
were  35  former  inmates  and  babies  out  in  homes  under  its 
supervision  at  the  date  of  the  report.    The  expense  for  main- 


THE   LOUISE   HOME,   ELWOOD   STATION 


tenance  during  the  year  indicated  was  $7,086.  The  average 
number  of  inmates  in  care  was  40,  and  the  per  capita  cost  was 
$177.  It  will  be  remembered  that  as  a  partly  missionary  insti- 
tution the  cost  of  salaries  is  materially  below  ordinary,  which 
reduces  the  per  capita  cost  of  service. 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  is  one  of  four  institutions  at 
Portland  doing  with  small  variations  the  same  kind  of  work,  for 
the  same  classes  of  unfortunates.  As  will  be  seen  most  of 
them  are  using  only  a  small  per  cent  of  their  capacity,  and 
should  be  changed  in  function  or  more  fully  utilized  for  state- 
wide activities. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


53 


12.  Florence  Crittenton  Refuge  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1890.  For  the  rescue  and  moral  guidance  of 
unfortunate  girls,  and  the  care  of  their  progeny.  One  of  a 
chain  of  such  institutions,  numbering  nearly  100,  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  States.  Controlled  by  a  nonsectarian  board,  but 
managed  on  the  same  general  plan  as  the  other  institutions  in 
the  Crittenton  group.  It  receives  girls  from  12  years  up,  with 
no  conditions  save  to  be  in  need  of  shelter  and  help.  In  recent 
years  the  average  age  of  the  inmates  has  constantly  lowered, 
until  now  many  of  those  received  are  mere  children  from  12 
to  15  years  of  age. 


FLORENCE  CRITTENTON  HOME,  PORTLAND 


The  home  is  a  fine  frame  building,  well  arranged  and  kept 
in  most  excellent  condition,  and  suitably  furnished  for  the  ser- 
vice to  be  rendered.  It  is  valued  at  about  $25,000,  and  is 
located  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city,  upon  a  site  of  nine  city 
lots  of  an  equal  valuation.  Total  property  value,  $50,000.  The 
capacity  is  about  50  adults  and  30  babies,  or  80  in  all.  It  will 
be  noted  that  only  an  average  of  43  per  cent  of  the  capacity  was 
in  use  during  the  year  indicated.  It  also  appears  that  during 
the  first  seven  months  of  1918  the  numbers  have  declined  still 
more,  so  that  in  July  there  were  only  15  inmates. 

The  statistics  were  given  for  the  year  1917.  During  this 
year  the  home  cared  for  a  total  of  100  inmates.  Of  these  four 
were  placed-out  in  families,  32  returned  to  relatives  and  friends, 
three  died,  37  were  disposed  of  otherwise,  and  24  remained  in 


54  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

care  at  the  close  of  the  year.  The  expense  of  maintenance  was 
$5,000,  of  which  $3,750  came  from  public  funds.  The  average 
number  in  care  was  34,  and  the  per  capita  cost  was  $147.  If 
the  present  decline  in  cases  to  be  served  could  be  considered 
permanent,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  this  excellent  plant 
could  be  given  a  different  function,  to  cover  more  pressing 
needs.  But  it  is  likely  that  the  future  will  develop  many  more 
unfortunates,  and  that  in  any  event  the  managers  of  the  insti- 
tution would  feel  that  others  than  themselves  should  turn  to 
different  work. 

13*  Salvation  Army  Rescue  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1896.  For  the  care  of  unfortunate  girls  and 
women,  their  reclamation  and  reform,  and  the  care  of  their 
infant  children.  One  of  many  such  institutions  under  the  man- 
agement of  this  religious  body.  The  inmates  are  received  from 
police  courts,  from  relatives,  and  on  personal  application  for 
help  from  the  unfortunates  themselves.  *There  are  many 
deserted  wives,  others  are  girls  abandoned  by  their  unworthy 
lovers,  and  a  few  are  bad  girls  who  have  gone  down  to  the 
depths.  Nearly  all  cases  are  pitiful,  some  are  easily  reclaim- 
able,  and  some  are  hopeless. 

The  property  is  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  Portland,  and 
is  a  large  residence,  modified  to  fit  the  service  required.  The 
home  is  valued  at  $17,000.  It  can  accommodate  17  adults  and 
ten  children,  27  in  all.  The  work  done  is  excellent  of  its  kind, 
although  the  workers  are  greatly  hampered  for  lack  of  a  build- 
ing and  equipment  suitable  for  doing  this  service  in  the  best 
modern  way.  The  army  hopes  to  be  able  in  the  near  future  to 
erect  a  new  building  for  this  work  on  a  larger  site  nearer  to 
the  edge  of  tjtie  city. 

During  the  year  ending  October  1,  1918,  the  home  cared  for 
a  total  of  143  inmates.  Of  these  53  were  placed  in  family 
homes,  either  as  workers  or  for  adoption,  57  were  returned  to 
friends  and  relatives,  two  died  at  the  home,  14  were  disposed 
of  otherwise,  and  17  remained  in  care  at  the  close  of  the  year. 
Like  the  Florence  Crittenton  Home,  this  institution  has  been 
established  a  long  time ;  and  its  relations  to  the  Salvation  Army 
and  the  rescue  work  in  Portland  are  positive  and  intimate.  It 
is  very  unlikely  that  it  could  be  discontinued,  or  that  any  one 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS  55 

would  favor  such  a  proposition,  even  though  its  property  is 
small,  and  combined  care  work  is  over  done  or  provided  for  in 
Portland.  It  meets  certain  needs  in  a  way  that  no  other 
institution  does,  and  as  perhaps  no  other  can. 

14.  The  White  Shield  Home,  Portland. 

Founded,  1917.  For  the  care  of  unfortunate  unmarried 
mothers,  and  the  temporary  care  of  their  children.  Established 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  will  of  the  late  E.  Henry 
Wemme,  of  Portland,  and  managed  by  trustees  of  his  own 
selection  and  designation.  The  will  also  makes  a  conditional 
disposition  of  the  institution  to  the  Christian  Science  church, 
of  Portland,  at  a  certain  date  after  his  demise.  This  date  is 
already  past,  but  the  trustees  still  manage  the  home,  and  are 
awaiting  a  court  decision  as  to  the  provisional  disposition  of  the 
property.  The  site  contains  four  acres  on  the  high  south  bank 
of  the  Willamette  River  in  the  northern  part  of  Portland,  and 
is  valued  at  $15,000.  The  home  is  a  fine  brick  structure,  three 
stories,  absolutely  modern  in  all  respects,  and  equipped  with 
the  finest  possible  appliances  for  a  maternity  hospital.  The 
building  is  valued  at  $65,000,  and  could  not  now  be  erected  for 
less  than  50  per  cent  more  than  that  sum.  The  residue  of  Mr. 
Wemme^s  estate  was  made  an  endowment  of  the  institution, 
and  is  in  excess  of  $355,000.  Total  value  of  property,  $435,000. 
The  capacity  of  the  institution  is  about  75,  but  could  easily  be 
made  to  reach  100. 

The  home  was  opened  for  use  August  1, 1917,  hence  has  been 
in  operation  just  one  year.  Owing  to  the  fact,  already  shown 
in  these  outlines,  that  three  other  homes  at  Portland  are 
engaged  in  combined  care  work,  all  of  them  taking  maternity 
cases,  this  institution  has  had  very  little  work  during  the  year. 
The  total  number  in  care  in  12  months  was  44.  Of  these  seven 
were  placed  in  family  homes,  ten  were  returned  to  kin  or 
friends,  22  were  disposed  of  otherwise,  and  five  remained  in 
care  at  the  year's  close.  On  the  average,  only  11  per  cent  of  the 
capacity  was  in  use  during  the  year.  This  made  the  average 
per  capita  cost  $669,  three  times  the  cost  of  similar  service  in 
the  other  institutions. 

It  is  apparent  that  four  institutions  for  this  class  of  work 
are  not  needed  in  Portland.     The  White  Shield  Home  is  the 


56  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

new  institution,  and  if  possible  should  change  its  function  to 
meet  real  and  pressing  needs  in  the  child  welfare  work  of  the 
State.  This  under  the  terms  of  the  will  may  be  impossible,  but 
perhaps  the  substance  of  the  generous  testator's  wish  may  be 
better  obtained  by  a  slight  variation  from  the  letter  than  by  a 
slavish  interpretation  of  its  words.  The  writer  has  in  mind 
two  splendid  ways  in  which  this  great  bequest  to  the  people 
of  Oregon  might  be  used  to  wonderful  advantage,  one  a  some- 
what temporary,  but  timely  change  of  function,  the  other  a 
permanent  and  much  needed  addition  to  the  child  welfare 
institutions  of  the  State. 

a.  The  White  Shield  Home,  as  a  roomy  and  perfectly  equipped  hospital, 
capable  of  accommodating  100  persons  and  their  necessary  attendants, 
would  make  an  ideal  convalescent  hospital  for  Oregon  soldiers  who  are 
returned  to  the  United  States  to  recover  from  wounds  or  shell  shock.  It 
would  be  a  gracious  and  patriotic  thing,  if  within  their  power  to  do  it,  if 
the  trustees  could  tender  the  use  of  this  fine  building  and  equipment  to 
the  State  and  to  the  general  government.  Possibly  the  plant  might  be 
requisitioned  by  the  general  government  for  such  service,  and  thus  cut 
any  legal  red  tape  that  might  otherwise  prevent  such  use  of  the  property. 

b.  Oregon  greatly  needs  a  well  equipped  and  supported  children's 
orthopedic  hospital.  There  are  hundreds  of  children  in  the  city  of  Port- 
land, and  as  many  more  throughout  the  State,  who  would  be  almost  "made 
over"  and  fitted  for  active  and  useful  citizenship,  to  which  they  can  not 
now  aspire,  if  they  could  have  the  expert  and  scientific  service  of  such  a 
hospital.  The  State  of  Washington  has  a  fine  orthopedic  hospital  for 
children  at  Seattle.  California  has  a  large  one  at  San  Francisco  and  a 
good  one  at  Los  Angeles.  Oregon  has  none.  It  would  be  perfectly  in  line 
with  the  spirit,  if  not  exactly  in  accord  with  the  letter,  of  Mr.  Wemme's 
bequest,  if  it  could  be  permanently  devoted  to  this  greatly  needed  and 
desired  addition  to  the  child  welfare  institutions  of  the  State. 

15.  Elizabeth  Cottage  for  Feeble-Minded,  Elwood  Station. 

Founded,  1917.  For  the  care  of  feeble-minded  babies  and 
small  children.  An  institution  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Rescue  and 
Protective  Society.  The  site  is  a  part  of  the  tract  on  which 
the  Louise  Home  is  located.  The  building  is  a  special  cottage 
erected  for  the  purpose,  and  has  a  capacity  for  15  babies  and 
small  children  of  this  class.  The  cottage  and  an  allowance  for 
suitable  grounds  from  the  general  tract  are  valued  at  about 
$5,000.  The  equipment  is  plain,  but  adequate  for  a  beginning 
of  this  work.  Workers  and  support  are  provided  by  the  society, 
which  as  previously  noted  operates  upon  a  partly  missionary 
basis.  It  is  near,  but  accounts  are  kept  and  arrangements  of 
all  kinds  are  made  separate  from  those  of  the  Louise  Home. 
Although  small,  it  is  in  all  essential  respects  a  separate 
institution. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


57 


Elizabeth  Cottage  was  erected  to  meet  a  very  keenly  felt 
want.  The  State  Institution  for  Feeble-minded,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  present  statutes,  can  take  no  children  under  five 
years  of  age.  At  the  Albertina  Kerr  Nursery  and  at  the  Louise 
Home,  both  under  the  management  of  this  society,  many  cases 
of  feeble-mindedness  were  found  among  the  babies  in  care. 
Some  of  these  it  was  necessary  to  keep  for  years  in  direct  con- 
nection with  the  normal  children,  which  was  unsatisfactory 
and  detrimental  in  many  ways.  Finally,  when  more  than  a 
dozen  of  these  doubly  unfortunate  dependents  had  accumulated 
on  the  society's  hands,  in  very  desperation  money  was  raised 


ELIZABETH  COTTAGE  FOR  FEEBLE-MINDED,   ELWOOD  STATION 


and  Elizabeth  Cottage  built,  to  shelter  them  and  others  yet  to 
appear,  until  they  should  reach  a  limit  of  age  entitling  them  to 
enter  the  State  institution. 

The  actual  work  of  care  in  the  cottage  is  less  than  a  year 
old.  During  this  time  13  babies,  all  positively  feeble-minded 
and  a  few  also  malformed  physically,  have  been  in  care.  One 
of  the  pitifully  defective  babies  died,  and  at  the  time  of  this 
report  12  are  still  receiving  tender  and  skilful  care  in  this  little 
institution.  The  cost  for  maintenance  for  seven  months  after 
the  work  began  was  $1,512.  This  was  at  a  per  capita  cost  for 
each  child,  on  the  basis  of  a  year  at  the  same  rate,  of  $216.  The 
small  capacity  of  Elizabeth  Cottage  precludes  the  possibility  of 
taking  any  except  the  feeble-minded  babies  found  in  the  other 
two  institutions  of  the  society. 

Sigr.  3. 


58  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

In  a  recommendation  related  to  the  State  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded  the  writer  suggested  the  lowering  of  the  age  of 
admission  to  that  institution  to  one  year,  and  the  erection  of 
a  *'baby  cottage,"  with  a  capacity  for  not  over  40  children,  in 
the  very  near  future.  That  recommendation  is  now  repeated. 
It  is  a  State  duty  to  care  for  these  ''double  unfortunates,"  and 
the  burden  should  not  be  laid  upon  private  organizations,  whose 
funds  must  be  raised  mainly  by  appeals  to  the  generosity  of 
citizens  who  are  humane  and  philanthropic. 

The  Statistical  Tables.  The  general  table  in  six  sections 
which  will  be  found  on  the  pages  following,  is  designed  to  put 
before  the  reader  a  35  point  resume  of  the  main  matters  in  rela- 
tion to  each  institution.  They  are  the  same  in  topics  and  treat- 
ment as  the  six  sections  of  Table  I,  treating  in  a  similar  way 
the  public  institutions.  They  should  be  successively  studied  by 
sections  from  A  to  F,  in  order  to  obtain  a  concise  and  clear  idea 
of  the  character  and  work  of  any  institution.  The  totals,  both 
for  the  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  groups,  and  for  the  entire  list 
of  private  institutions,  will  be  interesting  and  suggestive.  For 
instance,  how  many  casually  informed  citizens  can  guess  within 
a  million  dollars  how  much  the  generous  and  philanthropic 
citizens  of  the  State  have  invested  in  the  property  and  endow- 
ments of  these  private  child-caring  institutions?  How  many 
can  guess  within  a  thousand  the  number  of  dependent,  delin- 
quent and  defective  children  now  cared  for  by  these  same 
institutions?  How  many  can  guess  within  a  hundred  dollars 
the  average  per  capita  cost  of  caring  for  these  children  for  a 
single  year?  The  reader  and  student  of  these  pages  should 
try  it  out  on  his  intelligent  neighbors.  Some  who  have  done 
similar  testing  for  such  general  information,  have  found  the 
average  citizen  wof  ully  unenlightened. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


59 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING  AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  II — Institutions  under  Private  Management  Section  A — General 


Year  of 
Found- 
ing 

Statis- 
tics for 
Year 
Ending 

Beneficiaries 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Class 

Sex 

Age  Limits  for 

Reception 

Discharge 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS 

Institution   for 
Dependents 

1.  Beaverton — St.     Mary's 
Home  for  Boys  

2.  Beaverton — Levi    Ander- 
son Industrial  Home  for 
Boys  

-'  3.  Oswego — Christie    Home 

for  Orphan  Girls  

4.  Parkplace  —  St.      Agnee' 
Foundling    Asylum    

1889 

1918 
1859 
1902 

12/31 
17 

Dep. 

Dep. 
Dep. 
Dep. 

Boys 

Boys 
Girls 
Both 

6  to  14  yrs. 

12  to  21  yrs. 
6  to  16  yrs. 
Inf.  to  5  yrs. 

16  years 
21  years 

12/31 

17 
12/31 

17 

18  years 
10  years 

Institution  for 
Delinquents 

5.  Portland — House   of    the 
Good    Shepherd    

1902 

12/31 
17 

Del. 

Girls 

8  to  18  yrs. 

No  limit 

NON-CATHOLIC  INSTITU- 
TIONS 

Child-placinar  Agfency 

6.  Portland — Boys    &   Girls 
Aid   Society   

1885 

4/30 
18 

Dep. 

Both 

3  to  1 8  yrs. 

Boys  21 
Girls  18 

Institution  for 
Dependents 

7.  P  o  r  1 1  a  n  d — Albertina 
Kerr  Nursery  Home 

8.  Portland — Baby      Home, 
The 

1912 

1888 
1867 
1907 

12/31 

17 
12/31 

17 
12/31 

17 
4/30 

18 

Dep. 
Dep. 
Dep. 
Dep. 

Both 
Both 
Both 
Both 

Inf.  to  3  yrs. 
Inf.  to  3  yrs. 
3  to  10  yrs. 
Inf.  to  15  yrs 

5  years 
4  years 

^9.  Portlan  d — Children's 

Home,  The  

10.  Portland— Odd     Fellows 
Home   of   Oregon 

Boys  14 
Girls  18 

18  years 

Combined  Care 
Institutions 

11.  Elwood    Station — Louise 
Home,    The    

12.  Portland— Florence  Crit- 
tenton    Refuge    Home... . 

13.  Portlan  d^— Salvation 
Army  Rescue  Home 

14.  Portland— White     Shield 
Home  

1907 

1890 
r 
1896 

1917 

6/30 

18 
12/31 

17 

10/1 

17 

8/1 
18 

Dep. 

&Del. 

Dep. 

&Del. 

Dep. 

&Del. 

&^Del. 

Both 
Both 
Both 
Both 

Inf.  Boys 
Girls  any  age 
Inf.  Boys 
Girls  any  age 
Inf.  Boys 
Girls  any  age 
Inf.  Boys 
Girls  any  age 

Inf.  B.  only 
G.  no  limit 
Inf.  B.  only 
G.  no  limit 
Inf.  B.  only 
G.  no  limit 
Inf.  B.  only 
G.  no  limit 

Institution  for 
Defectives 

15.  Elwood      Station — Eliza- 
beth   Cott.    for    Feeble- 
minded     

1917 

6/30 
18 

Def. 

Both 

Inf.  to  4  yrs. 

5  years 

Note: 


Institution  No.   2,  not  being  in  operation,  will  be  omitted  after  Sec- 
tion B,  Property. 


60 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING  AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  II — Institutions  under  Private  Management  Section  B — Property 


Capac- 
ity of 
Build- 
ings 

Cost  of 
Plant 
Per  Bed 

Value  of  Property 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Value  of 
Plant 

Amount  of 
Endowment 

Total  Value 
of  Property 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS: 

Institutions  for 
Dependents 

1.  Beaverton — St.       Mary's 
Home  for  Boys 

140 

150 
105 

$1,250 

$     175,000 

70,000 

337,000 

110.000 

None 

$    200,000 

None 

None 

$     175,000 
270,000 
337,000 
110,000 

2.  Beaverton — Levi    Anderson 
Indus.    Home    for    Boys 

3.  Oswego — Christie      Home 
for  Orphan  Girls   

4.  Parkplace  —  St.     Agnes' 
Foundling    Asylum 

2,247 
1,048 

Total  for  depts 

395 
150 

*$1,390 
$     973 

$     619.000 
$    146,000 

$    200,000 
None 

$     819,000 
$    146.000 

Institutions  for 
Delinquents 

5.  Portland — House      of      the 
Good  Shepherd 

Total  for  Catholic  insts... 

N  O  N-CATHOLIC      IN  STITU- 
TIONS 

Child-placinsT   Agrency 

6.  Portland — Boys    and    Girls 
Aid    Society    

Institution  for 
Dependents 

7.  Portland — Albertina     Kerr 
Nursery   Home    

8.  Portland — Baby  Home,  The 

9.  Portland — C  h  i  1  d  r  e  n  '  s 
Home,   The   

10.  Portland — Odd     F  e  1  lo  w  s 
Home   of   Oregon   

545 

80 

40 
75 

90 

30 

$1,275 

$     605 

$2,875 
753 

500 

833 

$     765,000 

$       48.500 

$    115,000 
56,500 

45,000 

25,000 

$    200,000 

$    130,500 

None 
$      45,500 

275,000 

None 

$     965,000 

$     179,000 

$    115,000 
102,000 

320,000 

25,000 

Total  for  dependents 

Combined  Care  Institutions 

11.  Elwood  Static  n — Louise 
Home,   The   

12.  Portland  —  Florence     Crit- 
tenton   Refuge   Home   

13.  Portland — Salvation  Army 
Rescue  Home  

14.  Portland — W  h  i  t  e     Shield 
Home,   The   

235 

50 
80 
27 
75 

$1,028 

$     370 

625 

650 

1,066 

$    241,500 

$       18,500 
50,000 
17,000 
80,000 

$    320,500 

None 

None 

None 

$    355,000 

$    562,000 

$       18.500 

50,000 

17,000 

435,000 

Total  combined  care  insts. 

Institution  for 
Defectives 

15.  Elwood    Station— Elizabeth 
Cott.  for  Feeble-minded  ... . 

232 
15 

$     713 
$     333 

$     165,500 
$         5,000 

$     355,000 
None 

$    520,500 

$         5.000 

Total  non-Catholic  insts. 

562 

$     695 

$     460,500 

$     806.000 

$1,266,500 

Grand  total  private  insts. 

1.107 

*$1,044 

$1,225,500 

$1,006,000 

$2,231,500 

*  In  figuring  cost  of  plant  per  bed.  No.  2   is  omitted. 


THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


61 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING  AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  II — Institutions  under  Private  Management  Section  C — Maintenann.e 


Annual  Expenses 

Public  Funds 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Total 

Per 
Capita 

Salaries 

Am't 
Reed. 

Per 

Amount 

Per 

Capita 

Cent 
Exp. 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS: 

InBtitntions  for  Dependents 
1.  Beaverton  —  St.       Mary's 

Home    for   Boys    

3.  Oswego — Christie  Home  for 

Orphan    Girls 

$   23,592 
18,314 
12,000 

$175 
141 
129 

$   2,000 
1,620 
1,800 

$15 
12 
19 

$10,421 

8,830 

10,186 

44 
49 

4.  Parkplac  e — St.    Agnes' 
Foundling  Asylum  

85 

Total  for  dependents  

Institntion  for 
Delinctuents 
5.  Portland — House       of       the 
Good    Shepherd    

$   53,906 
$   14,200 

$150 
$171 

$    5,420 

$   3,000 

$15 
$36 

$29,437 
$   4,589 

55 
32 

Total   for  Catholic   insts.. 

NON-CATHOLIC    I  N  S  T  I  T  U- 
TIONS 

Child-placinsf  Agfency 

6.  Portland — Boys     and     Girls 
Aid    Society    

Institations  for  Dependents 

7.  Portland — Albertina     Kerr 
Nursery  Home 

$   68,106 

$   18,593 

$      8,255 
16,529 

14,295 

4,054 

$154 

•$   80 

$236 
271 

172 

253 

$   8,420 

$   5,446 

$   3,053 
6,996 

6,643 

1,500 

$19 

*$23 

$  87 

115 

80 
94 

$34,026 

$   5,971 

$   5,073 
7,257 

None 

None 

50 

32 
61 

8.  Portland — ^Baby  Home,   The 

9.  Portland — Children's    Home, 
The    

10.  Portland — Odd      Fellows 
Home    of    Oregon    

44 

Total    for   dependents    

Combined  Care 
Institutions 

11.  Elwood      Station — Louise 
Home,    The   

12.  Portland — Florence   Critten- 
ton    Refuge    Home 

13.  Portland — Salvation      Army 
Rescue  Home  

14.  Portland— White      Shield 
Home,  The  

$   43,133 

$      7,086 
5,000 
5,154 
5,352 

$221 

$177 
147 
234 
669 

$18,194 

$   1,460 

$   1,595 

1,080 

2,616 

$   93 

$   37 

47 

49 

327 

$12,330 

$   2,979 
3,750 
1,047 
None 

t50 

42 
75 
20 

Total  combined  care  insts 

Institution  for 
Defectives 

15.  Elwood      Station — Elizabeth 
Cott.    for    Feeble-minded 

$   22,592 
$      1,512 

$217 
t$216 

$   6,751 
$       315 

$   65 
J$45 

$   7,776 
$       840 

t45 
56 

Total   non-Catholic   insts... 

$   85,830 

§$217 

$30,706 

§$82 

$26,917 

t43 

Grand   total   private   insts. 

$153,936 

§$180       $39,126     §$45 

$60,943 

t46 

•  Per  capitas  based  on  entire  number  in  direct  care  during  the  year. 

t  Per  cent  based  on  institutions  receiving  state  aid. 

t  In  operation  only  seven  months;  per  capitas  based  on  year  at  same  rate. 

§  Per  capitas  omit  Nos.  6  and  15  as  special,  and  are  figured  on  remainder. 


62 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


OREGON    CHII.D-CARING   AGENCIES    AND    INSTITUTIONS 
Table  II — Institutions  under  Private  Management  Section  D — Averages 


Type  of 
Housing 

Average 
Percent 
Capacity 
in  Use 

Average  Numbers 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Cliildren 
in  Care 

Employes 
Regular 

Children 

Per 

Employe 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS: 

Institutions  for  Dependents 
1.   Beaverton  —  St.    Mary's    Home 
for    Boys 

3.  Oswego  —  Christie     Home     for 
Orphan  Girls 

4.  Parkplace  —  St.  Agnes'  Found- 
ling   Asylum 

Cong. 
Cong. 
Cong. 

96 
86 
89 

135 

130 

93 

21 
18 
16 

6.4 
7.2 
5.8 

Total  for  dependents 

Institutions  for  Delinquents 

5.  Portland — House    of    the    Good 
Shepherd     

91 
55 

358 
83 

55 
19 

6.5 

Cong. 

4.4 

Total  for  Catholic  insts. 

81 

48 

87 
81 

92 

53 

441 

38 

35 
61 

83 

16 

74 

7 

9 
17 

13 

3 

6.0 

NON-CATHOLIC     INSTITU- 
TIONS 

ChUd-placing-  Agency 

6.  Portland — Boys  and    Girls  Aid 
Society    

Institutions  for  Dependents 

7.  Portland — Albertina  Kerr  Nur- 
ery    Home 

8.  Portland — Baby   Home,   The 

9.  Portland  —  Children's      Home, 
The    

10.  Portland  —  Odd   Fellows  Home 
of    Oregon 

Cong. 

Cong. 
Cong. 

Cong. 

Cott. 

5.4 

3.9 
3.6 

6.4 

5.3 

Total  for  dependents 

83 

80 
43 
81 
11 

195 

40 

34 

22 

8 

42 

6 
3 
5 
3 

4.6 

Combined  Care  Institutions 

11.  Elwood   Station — Louise   Home, 
The    

12.  Portland  —  Florence    Crittenton 
Refuge    Home 

13.  Portland — Salvation  Army  Res- 
cue   Home 

14.  Portland  —  White  Shield  Home, 
The    

Cong. 
Cong. 
Cott. 
Cong. 

6.6 

11.3 

4.4 

2.7 

45 
80 

104 

12 

17 
2 

6.1 

Institutions  for  Defectives 

15.  Elwood  Station — Elizabeth  Cot- 
tage  for  Feeble-minded 

Cott. 

6.0 

T'ntnl   nnn-C^fl tViol IP   insts 

62 

349 

68 

5.1 

Grand  total  private  insts 

71 

790 

142 

5.6 

THE  PRIVATE  INSTITUTIONS 


63 


OREGON   CHILD-CARING  AGENCIES   AND   INSTITUTIONS 
Table  II — Institutions  under  Private  Management  Section  E — Children  Served 


Religious  Affiliation 

Children  in  Institutions 

Agencies  and  Institutions 

Of  Insti- 
tutions 

Of  Cliildren 

In  Insti- 
tution 
Begin- 
ning of 
Year 

Received 

During 

Year 

Total 
in  Care 
During 
Tear 

Catholic 

Non- 
Catholio 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS : 

Institutions  for 
Delinquents 
1.  Beaverton  —  St.     Mary's 

Home  for  Boys  

3.  Oswego  —  Christie  Home  for 
Orphan    Girls 

Cath. 
Cath. 
Cath. 

129 

130 

99 

67 
59 
56 

136 

134 

•     67 

60 
55 
88 

196 
189 

4.  Parkplace  —  St.      Agnes' 
Foundling  Asylum 

155 

Total  for  dependents 

358 
37 

182 
118 

337 
87 

203 
68 

540 

Institution  for 
Dependents 

5.  Portland — House  of  the  Good 
Shepherd    

Cath. 

155 

Total  for  Catholic  insts 

395 

None 

4 

29 

5 
None 

300 

233 

79 
153 

156 

26 

424 

36 

31 
54 

81 

18 

271 

197 

52 
128 

80 

8 

695 

NON-CATHOLIC    INSTITU- 
TIONS : 

6.  Portland  —  Boys    and    Girls 
Aid  Society  

Institutions  for 
Dependents 

7.  Portland  —  Albertina     Kerr 
Nursery   Home 

8.  Portland  —  Baby  Home,  The 

9.  Portland  —  Children's  Home, 
The   

10.  Portland— Odd  Fellows  Home 
of   Oregon   _ 

Nonsec. 

Nonsec. 
Nonsec. 

Nonsec. 

Nonsec. 

233 

83 

182 

161 
26 

Total  for  dependents 

38 

11 

7 

None 

12 

414 

166 
93 

143 
32 

184 

40 
39 
26 

268 

137 
61 

117 
44 

452 

Combined  Care 
Institutions 

11.  El  wood     Station  —  Louise 
Home,    The 

12.  Portland  —  Florence  Critten- 
ton  Refuge  Home 

13.  Portland  —  Salvation      Army 
Rescue  Home  

14.  Portland  —  White    Shield 
Home,   The 

Nonsec. 
Nonsec, 
S.Army 
Nonsec. 

177 

100 

143 

44 

Total  combined  care  insts. 

30 
1 

434 
12 

105 

359 
13 

464 

Institutions  for 
Defectives 

15.  Elwood     Station  —  Elizabeth 
Cottage  for  Feeble-minded.... 

Nonsec. 

13 

Total  non-Catholic  insts... 

69        1,093 

325 

837 

1.162 

Total  private  insts 

464 

1,393 

749 

1,108 

1,857 

64 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


OREGON    CHILD-CARING   AGENCIES    AND    INSTITUTIONS 


Table  II — Institutions  under  Public  Management 


Section  F — 
Disposition  of  Children 


Agencies  and  Institutions 

Placed 
in 

FamUy 
Homes 

Returned 
to  Kin  or 
Friends 

Died 

Disposed 
of  Otlier- 
wise 

In  Insti- 
tution at 
Close  of 
Year 

Under 
Supervi- 
sion at 
Close  of 
Year 

CATHOLIC  INSTITUTIONS: 

Institutions  for 
Dependents 
1.   Beaverton — St.  Mary's  Home 
for    Boys 

3.  Oswego  —  Christie  Home  for 
Orphan    Girls 

4.  Parkplace — St.  Agnes'  Found- 
ling   Asylum 

5 
4 

44 
52 
44 

.... 
4 

13 
2 
6 

134 
135 

97 

Total   for  dependents 

Institution  for 
Delinquents 
5.  Portland  —  House     of     the 
Good    Shepherd 

9 
10 

140 

58 

4 

21 
9 

3.66 

78 

Total  for  Catholic  Insts.... 

N  O  N-CATHOLIC       INSTITU- 
TIONS: 

Child-placing-  Agfency 

6.   Portland  —  Boys    and    Girls 
Aid    Society           

19 

150 

13 

22 

198 

48 

20 
46 

78 

10 

4 

1 
9 

30 

21 

11 
51 

2 

444 

14 

38 
54 

81 

16 

.... 
485 

Institutions  for 
Dependents 

7.  Portland  —  Albertina      Kerr 
Nursery    Home 

8.  Portland — Baby    Home,    The 

9.  Portland — Children's     Home, 
The 

50 
13 

10.  Portland  —  Odd    Fellows 
Home  of  Oregon 

.... 

Total  for  dependents 

Combined  Care 
Institutions 

11.  Elwood     Station  —  Louise 
Home,     The 

12.  Portland — Florence     Critten- 
ton    Refuge    Home 

13.  Portland  —  Salvation     Army 
Rescue    Home 

14.  Portland  —  White      Shield 
Home,    The 

35 

4 
53 

7 

154 

.   38 
32 

57 
10 

10 

2 
3 
2 

64 

97 
37 

14 
22 

189 

40 

24 

17 

5 

63 
35 

Total  combined  care  insts. 

Institutions  for 
Defectives 

15.   Elwood     Station  —  Elizabeth 
Cottage    for    Feeble-minded.. 

64 

137 

.... 

7 
1 

170 

86 
12 

35 

Total    non-Catholic    insts. 

249       1     339 

18 

255 

301                538 

Total  private  insts 

268 

537 

1    '' 

285 

745 

583 

IV 


SUMMARIES  AND  COMMENTS 


MANY  of  the  main  facts  brought  out  in  the  previous 
sections,  and  in  the  tables  recording  the  statistics  of 
the  public  and  private  institutions,  may  be  emphasized 
and  made  more  suggestive  by  a  few  summaries  and  comments. 
To  these  attention  is  now  invited. 

From  the  general  tables  already  given,  let  us  construct 
some  tables  of  totals,  combining  those  of  the  public  and  private 
institutions,  and  including  a  number  of  matters  of  greatest 
interest.  First,  consider  the  financial  investment  made  by  the 
people  of  Oregon  in  behalf  of  dependent,  delinquent  and 
defective  children,  as  shown  by  the  following  table. 

TABLE  III— PROPERTY  VALUES 


Control 

No.  of 
Insts. 

Capacity 
of  Insts. 

Cost  of 
Plant 
Per  Bed 

Value  of 
Plants 

Amount  of 
Endowment 

Total  Value 
of  Property 

Public  

Private    

6 
15 

705 
1.107 

n.o22 

1,044 

$     721,000 
1,225,000 

liodeTooo 

$     721,000 
2,231,500 

Total 

21 

1,812 

n.035 

$1,946,500 

$1,006,000 

$2,925,500 

That  Oregon,  by  public  action  and  private  benevolence,  has 
invested  an  aggregate  of  almost  three  millions  of  dollars  in 
institutions  for  these  classes,  and  that  the  institutions  now 
have  a  capacity  for  the  care  of  over  1,800  children,  will  be  a 
matter  of  surprise  to  many.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  average 
cost  of  plant  per  bed  in  the  private  institutions  is  a  little  higher 
than  it  is  for  the  public  institutions.  This  will  give  assurance 
that  the  physical  conditions  in  the  private  institutions  are  at 
least  equal  to  those  provided  under  public  auspices.  It  may 
here  be  said  that  in  the  private  institutions  the  care  given,  and 
the  moral  and  educational  training  provided,  are  at  least  equal 
to  the  care  and  training  given  in  the  public  institutions. 

Another  surprise  to  all  who  have  studied  the  tables  is  the 
large  amounts  annually  disbursed  for  the  maintenance  of  these 
institutions.  The  current  expenses  of  the  institutions  annually 
are  greater  than  some  supposed  was  the  amount  of  the  entire 
investment  for  these  classes.    All  knew  that  the  public  insti- 

65 


66 


CHILD  WiELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


tutions  were  supported  by  funds  raised  by  taxation ;  and  some 
citizens  supposed  that  the  running  expenses  of  the  private 
institutions  also  were  supplied  from  public  treasuries.  It  has 
been  said :  *The  State  aid  given  to  private  institutions  enables 
them  to  get  rich  off  the  public."  Let  us  put  the  matter  to  the 
test. 


TABLE 

IV — MAINTENANCE 

EXPENSE 

Control 

No.  of 
lusts. 

Total 

Maintenance 

Expense 

Per  Cent 
Paid  for 
Salaries 

Per  Cent 
Paid  for 
Oth.Exp. 

Amount  From 
PubUc  Funds 

Per  Cent 
From  Pub- 
lic Funds 

Public     

Private  

6 
15 

$144,262 
153,936 

39 
25 

61 

75 

$144,262 
60,943 

100 
46 

Total 

21 

$298,198 

32 

68 

$205,205 

69 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  annual  maintenance  of  these  insti- 
tutions amounts  to  practically  $300,000.  It  also  appears  that 
the  private  institutions  require  for  their  current  expenses  more 
than  those  under  public  management.  The  percentage  paid 
for  salaries  in  private  institutions  is  much  lower  than  in  the 
other  group,  leaving  a  larger  part  of  the  maintenance  expense 
to  go  into  supplies  and  provisions.  And  when  only  46  per 
cent  of  the  maintenance  of  private  institutions  comes  from 
public  funds  the  claim  that  they  are  getting  rich  through  State 
aid  is  ridiculous.  Take  now  another  summary  in  relation  to 
per  capitas  of  numbers  and  expense. 

TABLE  V— NUMBERS  AND  EXPENSE 


No.  of 
Insts. 

Average  Numbers 

Per  Capita  Expense 

Per  Capita 
Part  of 
Prop.  Value 

Control 

Children 
in  Care 

Regular 
Employes 

Children 
Per  Worker 

For 
Salaries 

For  Full 
ma'te'nee 

Public  

Private  

6 

15 

526 
790 

95 

142 

5.5 
5.6 

$102 
45 

$275 
180 

$1,371 
2,837 

Total 

21 

1,316 

237 

5.6 

$    72 

$227 

$2,243 

This  summary  brings  out  several  interesting  matters.  On 
the  average  there  are  1,316  children  in  care  in  the  21  institu- 
tions ;  while  in  Table  III  we  found  their  present  capacity  to  be 
1,812.  Only  73  per  cent  of  the  capacity  is  in  regular  use,  while 
27  per  cent  is  in  reserve  for  enlarged  demands.  This  reserve 
is,  however,  unequally  distributed,  some  lines  having  practically 
no  reserve,  while  in  others  it  is  large ;  the  situation  calling  for 
wise  and  careful  arrangement  of  work,  more  real  cooperation, 
and  in  some  cases  modification  of  function.     As  previously 


SUMMARIES  AND  COMMENTS 


67 


shown,   for  some  classes  there   also   should  be   increase  of 
capacity. 

The  fact  that  the  average  per  capita  cost  of  maintenance  in 
public  institutions  is  $275,  and  in  private  institutions  only  $180, 
is  also  of  economic  importance.  The  writer  and  the  Child 
Welfare  Commission  believe  that  this  low^er  per  capita  cost  of 
service  is  not  produced  by  a  poorer  quality  of  care,  or  smaller 
opportunities  for  training,  both  mental  and  moral,  but  rather 
is  due  to  a  combination  of  conditions  that  produces  like  results 
in  every  State  in  the  Union.  Both  public  and  private  institu- 
tions are  found  in  every  State,  each  class  has  a  place  and  a 
work  that  can  not  well  be  done  by  the  other,  and  any  agitation 
to  do  away  with  either  is  socially  and  economically  unwise. 

The  final  column  of  Table  V  presents  another  matter  too 
often  entirely  overlooked.  The  average  number  of  children  in 
care,  in  addition  to  their  share  in  the  cost  of  maintenance,  have 
in  effect  the  use  of  the  property  of  the  institution.  For 
instance,  take  an  institution  whose  property  is  worth  $100,000, 
and  that  has  an  average  of  100  children  in  care.  It  is  evident 
that  in  effect  each  of  the  100  children  has  the  use  of  $1,000 
worth  of  property.  Applying  this  idea  to  the  entire  property 
set  aside  for  this  use  in  Oregon,  $2,952,500,  and  dividing  it  by 
1,316,  the  average  number  of  children  in  care,  we  find  that  each 
inmate  of  the  institutions  under  observation  has  the  use  of 
$2,243  worth  of  property.  We  must  add  the  interest  on  this 
sum  to  the  per  capita  cost  of  maintenance,  to  obtain  the  real 
per  capita  cost  of  this  work. 

To  answer  many  queries  as  to  the  relative  numbers  and 
location  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  children  in  institutional 
care,  the  institutions  were  asked  to  give  the  religious  affilia- 
tion of  their  inmates.  A  summary  drawn  from  the  two  general 
tables  will  be  of  interest  to  many  people. 


TABLE  VI— RELIGIOUS  AFFILIATION 


No.  of 
Insts. 

Total 
Children 
in  Care 

Catholic  Institutions 

Non-Catholic  Institutions 

Control 

Catholic 
Children 

Non-Catholic 
CMlrtren 

Catholic 
Children 

Non- Catholic 
Children 

Public    

e 

15 

1,561 
1,857 

138 
69 

1,423 
1,093 

Private    

395 

300 

Total 

21 

3,418 

395 

300 

207 

2,516 

68 


CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 


The  total  children  in  care  refers  to  the  entire  number  pro- 
vided for  during  the  year  of  the  report,  in  most  cases  meaning 
1917.  There  are  many  duplications,  of  course ;  and  as  the  aver- 
age in  care  was  1,316  children,  and  3,418  were  listed,  the  aver- 
age term  of  stay  in  the  various  institutions  was  less  than  six 
months.  Beyond  the  fact  that  non-Catholic  children  were 
listed  in  all  of  the  Catholic  institutions,  and  that  Catholic  chil- 
ren  were  listed  in  nearly  all  of  the  non-Catholic  institutions,  no 
special  comment  is  necessary. 

A  final  summary  is  necessary  to  define  the  work  done  more 
clearly  by  combining  the  reports  on  numbers  of  children  served. 


TABLE]  VII— CHILDREN  IN  CARE 


Control 

No.  of 
Insts. 

In  Care 
Beginning 
of  Year 

Received 

During 

Year 

Total  in 
Care  Dur- 
ing Year 

Passed  Out 
of  Care 
During  Yr. 

In  Inst, 
at  Close 
of  Year 

Under  Su- 
pervision at 
Close  of  Yr. 

Public        •-  .. 

6 
15 

510 
749 

1,051 
1,108 

1,561 
1,857 

1.007 
1,112 

554 
745 

353 

Private     

583 

Total 

21 

1,259 

2,159 

3,418 

2,119 

1,299 

936 

The  numbers  in  care  are  increasing,  as  shown  by  the  figures 
for  the  beginning  and  the  close  of  the  year.  Again,  with  a 
total  of  3,418  in  care  during  the  year,  and  an  aggregate  of 
1,299  at  the  close  of  the  year,  we  see  that  the  institutional 
population  changes  more  than  two  and  a  half  times  each  annual 
period.  Almost  a  thousand  children  are  under  supervision  in 
families,  about  one-third,  mainly  on  parole,  by  the  public  insti- 
tutions, and  the  other  two- thirds  placed-out  for  family  care  by 
the  private  institutions.  For  a  State  with  less  than  a  million  in 
population  the  showing  is  one  that  the  citizens  may  ''view  with 
pride."  These  summaries  show  a  philanthropic  investment  of 
$3,000,000  in  behalf  of  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective 
children,  21  institutions  whose  capacity  is  over  1,800,  and  that 
average  1,300  in  care,  at  a  cost  of  $300,000  a  year. 


General  Points. 

this  time: 


A  few  general  points  may  be  emphasized  at 


1.  The  present  institutions  cover  the  field  quite  fully,  save  in  two 
respects — there  is  no  children's  orthopedic  hospital  in  the  State,  and  no 
reformatory  for  boys  over  16  and  adult  first  offenders. 

2.  Several  public  plants  should  be  enlarged  by  the  erection  of  new- 
cottages,  and  their  staffs  increased  by  the  addition  of  trained  and 
experienced  workers. 


SUMMARIES  AND  COMMENTS  69 

3.  Several  private  plants  need  improvement  or  renewal,  and  the 
institutions  more  workers,  especially  those  expert  and  experienced. 

4.  These  descriptions,  general  tables  and  summaries  make  it  plain  that 
it  would  be  unwise  to  favor  the  establishment  of  new  institutions,  demand- 
ing large  investments  and  new  staffs  of  workers,  except  as  above  indicated. 

5.  The  duty  of  the  present  seems  to  be  to  center  thought,  action,  and 
all  available  finance  on  the  strengthening  and  improvement  of  the  insti- 
tutions now  in  operation.  They  should  be  more  fully  modernized  in. 
methods  and  equipment,  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  twentieth  century. 

6.  There  should  be  far  greater  cooperation  among  Oregon  institutions.. 
The  "go  it  alone"  and  "do  it  all"  policies  of  the  past  are  as  dead  as: 
Caesar.  This  is  the  cooperative  age  in  social  work,  as  well  as  in  most 
other  things.  Some  institutions  will  need  to  change,  or  at  least  modify, 
their  functions,  to  best  do  their  work  as  parts  of  a  united  institutional 
federation,  and  to  rightly  serve  the  children  of  Oregon. 


V 
CHILD-PLACING  IN  FAMILIES 

MANY  people  in  Oregon  believe  that  the  State  in  the 
near  future  must  care  for  a  greatly  increased  number 
of  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children;  and 
that  to  provide  for  them  a  large  institution  must  be  erected. 
It  seems  to  be  presumed  that  the  increase  will  come  in  two 
ways — ^by  a  partial  depopulation  of  the  private  institutions  now 
in  operation,  because  State  aid  is  cut  off,  and  as  one  of  the 
results  of  the  great  war. 

That  the  present  private  institutions  for  these  classes  will 
in  any  large  measure  diminish  their  work,  whether  or  not 
State  aid  is  continued,  may  well  be  doubted.  That  the  war  will 
produce  a  large  number  of  dependents,  is  already  certain ;  but 
it  seems  quite  sure  that  very  few  juvenile  war  dependents  will 
require  institutional  care.  They  will  be  provided  for  in  other 
ways.  However,  from  various  causes  and  sources  a  material 
increase  in  the  number  of  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective 
children  may  be  expected,  and  provision  must  be  made  for  their 
care  in  some  proper  and  adequate  way. 

Enlargement  of  the  State  Institution  for  Feeble-minded  is 
the  wise  and  economical  way  to  afford  additional  institutional 
care  for  defectives.  Enlargement  of  the  State  Training  and 
Industrial  Schools,  as  previously  recommended,  will  provide  for 
an  increased  number  of  delinquents,  from  whatever  source 
derived.  If  a  reformatory  for  boys  over  16  and  adult  first 
offenders  is  provided,  there  will  be  more  capacity  in  the  Train- 
ing School  for  the  younger  deUnquent  boys.  This  leaves  to  be 
solved  only  the  problem  of.  the  proper  care  of  dependent 
children. 

The  solution  of  this  problem  is  not  necessarily  found  in  new 
or  enlarged  institutions  for  this  class.  In  fact,  while  some 
institutions  are  necessary,  and  others  may  be  made  useful,  the 
main  body  of  dependent  children  can  best  be  cared  for  by  a 
method  in  definite  use  for  3,500  years,  and  increasingly  used 
by  the  most  progressive  modern  states  and  communities — 
child-placing  in  families.  It  is  urged  that  Oregon  give  greater 
consideration  to  this  method  at  this  time. 

70 


CHILD-PLACING  IN  FAMILIES  71 

The  Original  Method.  This  method  of  caring  for  dependent 
children,  by  placing  them  in  family  homes,  was  first  legally  and 
nationally  used  by  the  Jews,  who  have  been  active  in  child  wel- 
fare work  longer  than  any  other  people  of  history.  In  the  laws 
of  Moses,  recorded  in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  Talmud,  a  body  of 
laws  and  comments  not  included  in  the  Pentateuch,  we  find 
the  first  historical  records  of  child  welfare  work ;  and  they  are 
the  only  careful  and  definite  provision  for  orphan  and  destitute 
children  known  concerning  any  nation  of  the  ancient  world. 
There  were  special  laws  to  provide  for  widows  and  orphans, 
and  enactments  in  behalf  of  abandoned  and  foundling  chil- 
dren. It  was  required  that  children  lacking  parental  care  should 
be  made  members  of  the  households  of  relatives,  if  any  were 
available,  and  if  none  were,  some  other  household;  and  the 
children  must  be  trained  up  for  efficient  adult  life.  According 
to  the  Talmud,  the  custom  in  regard  to  foundlings  was  that  each 
such  child  was  taken  into  the  home  of  a  childless  couple,  who 
brought  it  up  as  their  own. 

This  method  of  child  care,  originated  so  long  ago,  has  con- 
tinued through  all  succeeding  ages,  and  has  spread  to  prac- 
tically all  civilized  nations.  The  early  Christians,  who  origi- 
nally were  mainly  Jews,  took  into  the  new  church  the  child  wel- 
fare methods  of  the  older  organization.  For  nearly  200  years 
child-placing  in  families  was  the  only  method  for  the  care  of '^ 
dependents  used  by  the  Christian  church.  It  became  customary 
for  the  bishops  to  place  orphan  and  other  dependent  children, 
for  whom  no  permanent  family  home  at  once  offered,  in  the 
care  of  selected  widows  at  church  expense,  thus  establishing 
the  equivalent  of  the  boarding-out  system  practiced  by  modern  ^ 
societies.  Later,  institutions  were  founded,  but  child-placing 
in  families  never  was  abandoned,  and  is  in  operation  today  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  with  more  systematic  methods,  than  ever  in 
past  ages. 

Organizations  for  Child-placing.  The  development  of  mod- 
ern ideas  has  made  the  properly  equipped  placing-out  agency  a 
necessity.  In  past  years  many  thought  that  to  secure  a  home 
for  a  child  in  a  respectable  family  was  all  that  was  needed  to 
provide  for  its  welfare.  But  when  it  was  shown  that  careless 
child-placing  gave  rise  to  many  abuses,  and  that  cruel,  neglect- 


72  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

f ul,  selfish  and  unworthy  people  took  children  for  bad  and  even 
criminal  purposes,  social  workers  saw  that  child-placing  must 
be  regulated,  and  be  done  only  by  organizations  that  can  be 
brought  to  account  for  their  actions.  So,  for  over  50  years  the 
work  of  child-placing  has  been  more  and  more  confined  to 
established  and  approved  agencies,  authorized  by  the  State. 

While  at  present  the  placing  of  children  in  family  homes  in 
most  states  is  at  least  nominally  in  the  hands  of  these  child- 
placing  agencies,  placing-out  is  also  done  as  an  incidental  work 
by  nearly  all  child-caring  institutions.  State  Training  and 
Industrial  Schools  practice  one  form  of  child-placing  when  they 
^  get  jobs  including  homes  for  paroled  wards,  and  keep  them  in 
these  family  homes  under  supervision.  Orphanages  and  chil- 
dren's homes  practice  another  form  of  it  when  they  get  a  home 
and  a  place  to  work  for  their  wards  at  the  time  these  reach  the 
age  limit  of  stay  at  the  institution.  Many  institutions  place- 
out  younger  children  for  adoption,  or  let  supposedly  good  fam- 
ilies "take"  them  to  raise  on  agreed  terms  which  generally 
include  schooling  and  moral  training.  And  a  large  amount  of 
child-placing  is  done  in  careless  and  haphazard  ways  by  juvenile 
-^  courts,  humane  societies,  associated  charities,  directors  of  the 
poor,  hospital  people,  commercial  maternity  homes,  baby 
farmers,  clergymen,  midwives  and  physicians. 

If  in  some  localities  child-placing  has  been  in  bad  repute, 
the  probability  is  that  the  reason  may  be  found  in  the  unau- 
thorized and  unsystematic  methods  employed.  Poor  placing-out 
^ives  uncertain  and  often  exceedingly  bad  results.  Good  child- 
placing,  under  modem  safeguards,  gives  almost  uniformly 
excellent  results. 

To  put  the  requirements  of  modem  child-placing  in  a  single 
sentence:  Child-placing  should  be  done  only  after  thorough 
investigation  of  the  applicant,  his  home,  and  its  environment ; 
the  child  should  be  just  as  thoroughly  studied  and  carefully 
fitted  into  the  new  relationships  and  location;  and  both  the 
home  and  the  child  should  be  kept  under  personal  and  adequate 
supervision  until  the  latter  receives  legal  adoption  or  attains 
legal  age.  This  work  can  not  be  done  by  slipshod  methods 
without  many  failures,  and  deep  injustice  to  the  innocent 
children  involved.  Therefore,  individuals  and  unauthorized 
executives,  arid  all  public  officials  not  so  situated  that  they  can 


CHILD-PLACING  IN  FAMILIES  73 

do  the  work  in  a  proper  way,  should  be  forbidden  by  law  to 
engage  in  child-placing.  All  placing-out  in  families  should  be 
done  by  authorized  agencies  or  institutions,  duly  licensed  by 
the  State  after  full  investigation  of  their  character,  personnel, 
and  equipment,  and  under  positive  obligation  to  do  work  of  high 
quality. 

Arguments  for  Child-placing.  The  advocates  of  child-placing 
make  no  attack  upon  the  child-caring  institutions,  recognizing 
the  fact  that  some  institutions  are  necessary,  and  that  the 
work  is  so  large  that  all  types  of  child  welfare  work  are  needed 
for  the  care  of  unfortunate  and  depressed  childhood.  But  they 
are  very  positive  in  their  belief  that  for  normal,  needy  and 
homeless  children  placement  in  selected  foster  homes  by  an 
efficient  agency  is  better  than  continued  care  in  an  institution. 
Boarding-out  of  temporary  cases  also  is  now  successfuly  done 
by  many  agencies  in  several  states,  notably  Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania  and  California.  Five  reasons  are  outlined  here 
for  the  extended  use  of  the  child-placing  plan. 

1.  Its  Normality.  It  is  an  accepted  fact  that  children  reared 
in  institutions  are  in  abnormal  relations  to  family  life  and 
society,  so  long  as  they  are  thus  massed.  When  they  finally 
emerge  and  enter  social  relations  and  business,  they  have  to 
get  away  from  institutional  habits  and  customs,  and  learn  the 
ways  of  life  in  private  homes  and  communities.  From  all  of 
these  handicaps  the  child  placed  early  in  a  suitable  family  home 
is  saved.  He  has  no  institutional  ideas  to  forget,  no  institu- 
tional habits  to  overcome,  and  no  conditions  of  ordinary  life 
to  learn. 

2.  Its  Economy.  On  the  average  it  costs  about  $200  a  year 
to  board  and  clothe  a  child  in  an  institution.  The  average  stay 
for  those  who  are  permanently  homeless  is  estimated  at  five 
to  six  years.  In  round  numbers  the  average  cost  of  rearing  a 
child  in  an  institution  is  about  $1,200.  Put  against  this  the 
child-placing  plan,  which  in  proportion  to  numbers  served, 
requires  a  very  small  institutional  investment,  usually  all 
included  in  office  equipment  and  a  small  receiving  home  for 
temporary  care,  and  in  which  the  chief  expense  is  in  actual 
work  done  by  paid  trained  agents,  who  gather  up  the  distressed 
and  unfortunate  children,  find  good  family  homes  for  them. 


74  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

fit  them  into  the  homes,  and  give  friendly  and  efficient  after- 
supervision.  The  general  average  cost  for  three  agencies 
recently  studied,  and  which  are  representative  organizations, 
was  about  $75  per  child  for  the  first  year's  work.  The  cost  of 
adequate  supervision  by  personal  visitation  is  about  $25  per 
year  per  child.  Call  the  term  of  supervision  six  years,  five 
after  the  first.  The  cost  of  supervision  for  five  years  would  be 
$125,  which  added  to  the  $75  for  the  first  year's  work  would  be 
a  total  of  $200.  For  good  measure  call  it  $250.  Please  note  that 
the  average  cost  in  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  of  Oregon, 
assigning  the  entire  maintenance  expense  to  the  233  children  in 
direct  care,  and  ignoring  all  spent  on  the  485  children  under 
supervision,  in  1917  was  $80  per  child.  Probably  $10  per  child 
was  used  on  supervision ;  so  the  actual  cost  of  the  first  year's 
work  was  not  over  $60  per  child  on  the  233  in  direct  care.  It  is 
evident  from  the  above  that  the  money  cost  of  placing  and 
supervising  a  child  for  six  years  can  be  well  done  at  the  average 
cost  of  its  care  in  an  institution  for  one  year. 

3.  Its  Availability.  Institutions  have  a  definite  capacity. 
Once  filled,  only  as  children  die  or  are  removed  can  others  be 
accommodated.  In  Oregon  on  the  average  changes  are  more 
rapid  than  in  many  eastern  states,  but  even  here  the  stay,  as  in 
St.  Mary's  Home  for  Boys,  averages  between  two  and  three 
years.  This  means  that  only  about  one-third  of  the  capacity  of 
such  an  institution  is  available  for  new  children  each  year.  St. 
Mary's,  like  other  institutions,  has  a  floating  as  well  as  a  more 
permanent  population,  which  reduces  the  general  stay  average 
materially.  The  more  permanent  inmates,  the  really  homeless 
children,  average  at  least  five  or  six  years. 

On  the  other  hand  the  child-placing  agency  has  almost 
unlimited  capacity.  The  supply  of  available  homes  seldom  any- 
where falls  below  the  current  demand.  In  Oregon  there  are 
plenty  of  good  homes  willing  to  take  children  and  rear  them 
wisely  and  efficiently,  if  they  are  sought  and  studied  in  a  busi- 
ness-like way.  Without  question  there  is  a  fair  family  home 
for  every  homeless  child.  The  unhmited  availability  of  the 
plan  should  commend  it  to  the  social  workers  of  the  State, 
especially  as  a  proper  provision  for  the  expected  increase  in 
the  numbers  of  dependents. 

4.  Its  Universality.    The  child-placing  plan  has  almost  uni- 


CHILD-PLACING  IN  FAMILIES  75 

versal  acceptance  the  world  over  as  ideally  the  best  method  of 
providing  for  normal  children  who  are  homeless  and  dependent. 
As  a  practical  working  method  it  lags  but  little  behind  belief 
in  it  as  an  ideal.  Never  in  all  the  past  were  so  many  children 
annually  placed  in  foster  homes  by  public  and  private  persons, 
officers,  agencies  and  institutions,  as  in  this  second  decade 
of  the  twentieth  century.  The  laws  of  every  State  recognize 
the  method  in  some  form.  Nearly  every  state  has  one  or  more 
of  the  modern  agencies  for  systematic  child-placing.  The  laws 
of  Oregon  recognize  the  method  and  approve  such  agencies. 
These  arrangements  are  not  declining  remnants  of  former 
processes,  but  are  up-to-date  developments  in  all  the  leading 
states  of  the  Union. 

5.  Its  Ultimate  Necessity.  A  leading  social  worker  says: 
"Whatever  makeshifts  we  create  and  use  in  the  care  of  depen- 
dent children,  the  family  home  is  the  ultimate  institution." 
All  institutional  children  must  finally  return  to  ordinary  social 
conditions  as  inmates  of  family  homes.  Generally,  this  return 
is  managed  by  the  institution  itself,  when  a  ward  reaches  the 
age  of  dismission.  Human  beings  are  not  like  puppies  to  be 
cast  out  into  the  pond  and  forced  to  swim  ashore  or  drown. 
Children  are  too  precious  to  risk  in  that  manner.  So  at  the 
departure  of  their  wards  institutions  secure  places  for  them 
in  family  homes,  or  jobs  including  the  protection  of  homes,  so 
that  these  immature  citizens  may  start  in  the  outside  world 
under  somewhat  favorable  circumstances.  Such  official 
arrangements  are  a  true  form  of  child-placing  in  families.  In 
this  and  other  ways  child-placing  is  the  ultimate  necessity  in 
child-caring  work. 

Types  of  Placement.  There  are  three  types  of  placement 
in  general  use  by  agencies  and  institutions.  The  form  to  be 
used  in  any  individual  case  is  determined  by  various  considera- 
tions, among  which  are  the  needs  of  the  child,  its  partial  or 
absolute  homelessness,  its  legal  relations,  and  its  age  and  capac- 
ity for  service.  Clear  conceptions  as  to  the  purposes  of  these 
three  types  of  placement  are  essential  to  good  child-placing. 

1.  Boarding  Homes.  It  is  usual  to  recommend  placement  in 
family  homes  on  board,  the  expense  being  borne  or  guaranteed 
by  the  agency,  for  such  children  as  are  temporarily  separated 


76  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

from  friends  and  relatives,  or  whose  legal  status  is  not  yet 
determined.  Social  workers  in  Portland,  who  have  tested  the 
matter  by  actual  trial,  say  that  excellent  boarding  homes  can 
be  obtained  in  Oregon,  at  a  reasonable  rate  and  that  give  satis- 
factory service.  This  plan  is  often  used  for  partial  dependents, 
whose  parents  can  pay  a  part  of  the  expense  of  their  children's 
care. 

2.  Free  Homes.  Child-placing  in  families  is  generally  under- 
stood as  referring  to  placement  in  selected  private  homes,  as 
members  of  the  families,  the  entire  expense  of  support  and 
responsibility  for  training  being  assumed  by  the  foster  parents. 
Infants  and  the  younger  boys  and  girls  are  usually  taken  with 
the  expectation  of  legal  adoption.    This  is  the  form  of  child- 

J  placing  with  which  the  people  of  Oregon  are  most  familiar.  It 
is  the  standard  and  dominant  type  of  child-placing,  and  is 
heartily  recommended  for  all  suitable  dependent  children. 

3.  Working  Homes.  For  large  boys  and  girls,  able  partly  or 
fully  to  earn  their  support,  places  are  found  in  good  families 
where  they  can  have  home  conditions  and  protection,  while 
at  the  same  time  beginning  to  do  for  themselves.  Both  agencies 
and  institutions  use  working  homes.  Modern  usage  requires 
careful  selection  of  the  homes ;  fitting  the  child  to  the  proposed 
service ;  the  payment  of  suitable  wages,  which  are  either  given 
to  or  held  for  the  child ;  safeguarding  the  child's  interest  by  a 
definite  agreement ;  adequate  supervision  after  the  placement 
is  made ;  and  reservation  by  the  placing  agency  of  the  right  to 
remove  the  child  whenever  in  its  judgment  it  is  for  his  best 
interests. 

Standard  Basis  for  Child-placing.  The  necessity  for  the 
standardization  of  child-placing  in  Oregon  must  be  apparent  to 
all  who  have  noted  the  matters  treated  up  to  this  point.  The 
placing-out  of  children  is  being  engaged  in  by  the  incorporated 
agencies  and  institutions,  by  regular  hospitals  and  commercial 
maternity  homes,  by  baby  farm  keepers,  by  clergymen,  physi- 
cians, midwives,  and  numerous  other  individuals.  It  is  time  to 
call  a  halt  on  unauthorized  work  of  this  kind,  and  systematize 
child-placing  in  established  organizations  on  a  modern  basis. 

The  minimum  essentials  of  a  good  placing-out  system  should 
be  established  by  authority  of  the  State,  through  some  appro- 


CHILD-PLACING  IN  FAMILIES  77 

priate  channel.  To  maintain  the  standards  of  such  work,  all 
agencies  and  institutions  should  be  required  to  secure  a  certifi- 
cate of  approval  annually,  issued  by  the  proper  State  depart 
ment,  thus  guaranteeing  that  they  are  properly  quahfied  and 
equipped  to  do  the  work.  Only  those  so  authorized  should  be 
permitted  to  engage  in  the  placing-out  of  children. 

Some  of  the  principal  essentials  of  a  standard  child-placing 
system  should  be  recorded  for  the  guidance  of  social  workers 
and  those  responsible  for  State  legislative  action.  The  following 
outline,  quoted  from  advance  sheets  of  the  writer's  new  book 
on  "Child-placing  in  Families,"  gives  the  proper  minimum 
requirements  for  child-caring  organizations,  with  especial 
reference  to  agencies  for  child-placing: 

1.  At  least  five  reputable  and  responsible  citizens  of  the  commonwealth, 
the  group  including  both  sexes,  associated  as  a  board  of  incorporators,  or 
a  board  of  trustees  or  managers,  should  present  for  approval  to  the  proper 
State  authorities,  articles  of  association  or  incorporation,  defining  the 
proposed  child  welfare  work,  the  methods  to  be  used,  and  the  objects  to  be 
accomplished. 

2.  No  incorporation  should  be  allowed  or  charter  granted  until  the 
project  and  plans  shall  have  been  investigated  by  said  State  authority, 
whose  approval  shall  be  based  upon  reasonable  and  satisfactory  assurance 
on  the  following  points: 

a.  The  good  character  and  intentions  of  the  applicants. 

b.  The  present  and  prospective  need  for  the  service  intended  by  the 
proposed  organization. 

c.  The  employment  of  capable  trained  or  experienced  workers. 

d.  Sufficient  financial  backing  to  insure  effective  work. 

e.  The  probability  of  permanence  in  the  proposed  organization  or 
institution. 

f.  That  the  methods  used  and  the  disposition  made  of  the  children 
served  will  be  in  their  best  interests  and  in  that  of  society. 

g.  Wise  and  legally  drawn  articles  of  incorporation  or  institutional 
charter,  and  related  bylaws. 

h.  That  in  the  judgment  of  said  State  authority  the  establishment  of 
such  an  organization  is  desirable  and  for  the  public  welfare. 

3.  All  child-placing  in  families  should  be  done  by  approved  agencies 
and  institutions,  that  have  satisfied  a  competent  State  authority  that 
they  are  reputable  and  properly  qualified  to  do  the  work  and  that  pledge 
themselves  to: 

a.  Investigate  all  cases  of  children  offered  for  reception  carefully 
and  thoroughly.  This  implies  the  individual  and  family  "case  study" 
so  urgently  insisted  upon  and  described  elsewhere. 

b.  Examine  and  treat  children  according  to  their  needs.  Social,  dietetic, 
medical,  and  psychological  treatment  while  in  temporary  care,  and  the 
careful  fitting  of  children  into  new  homes  or  institutions  are  here  implied. 

c.  Provide  sympathetically  and  considerately  for  the  happiness  and 
the  recreational  needs  of  the  children:  First,  as  insuring  pleasant  and 
normal  living  conditions ;  second,  as  an  essential  part  of  their  development 
and  education. 

d.  Personally  inspect  and  judiciously  select  all  family  homes  used.  The 
use  of  trained  paid  agents,  expert  in  child-placing  work,  is  always  essential 
to  high  class  service. 


78  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

e.  Give  all  placed-out  wards  adequate  supervision.  Each  agency  or 
institution  must  supervise  its  wards  after  placement,  and  proper  State 
supervision  of  all  organizations  and  their  work  is  also  a  social  necessity. 

4.  Child-placing  in  families  by  unauthorized  individuals,  such  as 
nurses,  midwives,  physicians,  and  clergymen,  should  be  prohibited  by  law; 
and  placing-out  by  public  officers  should  be  done  only  by  those  who  are 
connected  with  proper  agencies  or  institutions,  or  who  have  been  appointed 
to  and  approved  for  such  work  by  competent  authorities. 

5.  Commercial  lying-in  homes  and  maternity  hospitals  should  be 
allowed  to  operate  only  when  duly  licensed  after  thorough  examination  and 
approval  by  the  State  authorities  as  to  the  desirability  of  establishing 
such  work  in  behalf  of  the  public  welfare,  and  as  to  buildings,  equipment, 
facilities  for  proper  service,  and  the  character  of  the  management  and 
employes;  and  all  such  institutions  should  be  forbidden  by  law  to  place 
out  children. 

6.  Certificates  of  approval  from  a  competent  State  authority,  the  cer- 
tificates renewable  annually,  should  be  required  for  all  organizations 
caring  for  dependent;  delinquent,  or  defective  children,  whether  or  not 
they  receive  support  from  public  funds,  and  including  both  child-placing 
agencies  and  institutions  for  continued  care. 

7.  The  appropriation  of  public  funds  to  private  agencies  or  institutions, 
if  granted  at  all,  should  be  absolutely  limited  to  such  as  are  approved 
and  certified  by  a  proper  State  authority;  and  all  such  funds  should  be 
granted  only  on  the  basis  of  specific  service  rendered  for  children  found 
to  be  proper  charges  upon  funds  raised  by  taxation.  They  should  never 
be  given  in  lump  sums  without  audit  or  definite  application. 

8.  Every  child-caring  agency  or  institution  should  be  required  to  keep 
adequate  records  of  all  of  its  wards  and  of  all  its  work.  Definite  forms 
and  sets  of  records  should  be  provided  by  the  State,  to  secure  both 
efficiency  and  uniformity. 

9.  There  should  be  in  each  commonwealth  a  central  state  supervisory 
board  or  department,  with  authority  to  cover  all  matters  indicated  in  the 
preceding  paragraphs.  This  supervisory  power  may  be  vested  in  a  state 
board  of  control,  a  state  board  of  charities,  or  in  a  special  agency,  perhaps 
called  the  board  of  children's  guardians.* 

*  Child-placing  in  Families,  W.  H.  Slingerland,  Ph.  D.,  Department  of  Child- 
helping,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  1918,  pp.  43-45. 


VI 
CHILD  CARE  IN  INSTITUTIONS 

THE  number  and  variety  of  agencies  and  institutions 
engaged  in  child-caring  work,  the  wealth  invested  in 
plants  and  endowments,  the  large  annual  expense  for 
maintenance  and  upkeep,  and  the  hundreds  of  devoted  workers 
employed,  are  evidence  of  the  fine  spirit  which  has  animated 
our  best  citizens  in  their  desire  to  provide  care  and  protection 
for  the  most  needy  and  helpless  members  of  society. 

Like  most  charitable  efforts  of  the  past,  nearly  all  institu- 
tions for  child-helping  have  been  founded  to  meet  particular, 
immediate,  and  often  limited  needs.  Sometimes  these  needs 
have  proved  temporary,  or  the  community  has  outgrown  the 
method  employed  in  satisfying  them-;  but  because  of  financial 
investments,  the  pride  of  the  prestige  acquired  by  having  done 
useful  work  in  the  past,  and  the  desire  of  officers  to  continue 
to  enjoy  their  honors,  institutions  go  on  after  they  should  have 
changed  their  functions  or  have  been  decently  buried. 

Seldom  in  past  generations  did  the  people  as  a  whole  face  the 
problems  of  the  community  in  reference  to  dependency,  delin- 
quency, or  defectiveness,  and  plan  out  a  series  of  organizations 
to  meet  both  present  and  future  needs.  The  majority  of  child- 
helping  agencies  and  institutions,  therefore,  have  grown  up 
without  any  vital  relation  to  any  other,  and  go  on  their  lone 
way  without  realizing  or  attempting  to  understand  their  rela- 
tionship to  larger  and  general  social  problems.  Those  in  the 
same  community  compete  for  financial  support,  run  the  whole 
gamut  from  best  to  worst  in  the  physical  care  of  their  wards, 
duplicate  unnecessarily  each  other's  functions,  leave  untouched 
as  out  of  their  line  real  and  permanent  community  needs  while 
wasting  much  of  their  strength  on  the  barren  ground  of  a 
worn  out  function,  and  live  in  the  community  on  the  good  deeds 
of  the  past  while  allowing  it  to  suffer  because  of  its  unsolved 
social  problems.  But  this  is  the  age  of  unified  social  systems, 
definite  community  programs,  limitation  of  institutional 
functions,  and  general  cooperation. 

Only  through  some  department  of  the  State  government, 

79 


80  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

specially  related  to  and  with  some  measure  of  control  over  the 
diverse  and  scattered  units  of  institutional  work,  is  it  possible 
to  unify  them  and  impose  any  adequate  standardizing  methods. 
The  subject  of  State  supervision  of  private  institutions  will  be 
discussed  later.  But  some  degree  of  standardization  may  be 
attained  by  having  all  acquainted  with  some  of  the  principles, 
methods,  conditions  and  equipment  that  an  efficient  State 
department  of  supervision  would  inculcate  and  demand.  Most 
boards  and  working  officers  of  child-caring  institutions  will  be 
glad  to  note  what  experienced  social  workers  count  essential 
to  proper  care  and  institutional  service  and  equipment.  To 
some  of  these  let  us  now  address  ourselves. 

Reception  of  Children.  **It  is  the  duty  of  the  people  to 
demand,  and  of  the  State  to  require,  that  only  properly  estab- 
lished, well-equipped,  carefully  examined,  and  fully  approved 
public  and  private  agencies  and  institutions  be  allowed  to 
receive  into  their  care  and  control  the  dependent  children  of  a 
nation."  Social  workers  should  know  what  is  involved  in  the 
reception  of  children  by  organizations,  and  should  insist  that 
the  haphazard  ways  of  the  past  give  place  to  higher  ideals  and 
the  more  systematic  and  humane  methods  of  today. 

The  central  and  essential  processes  included  in  the  reception 
of  children  are  three:  (1)  the  diagnosis  of  persons  and  con- 
ditions; (2)  the  formal  transfer  of  responsibility  to  the 
agency  or  institution;  and  (3)  the  actual  assumption  of  the 
personal  care  of  the  children.  Every  worthy  and  reputable 
organization  desires  to  make  all  necessary  examinations  and 
investigations  before  accepting  a  child  as  its  ward;  will  see 
to  it  that  the  transfer  of  control  is  properly  and  legally  made ; 
and  will  tenderly  and  tactfully  welcome  the  child  to  its  new 
abode  and  relationships. 

Diagnosis  or  "Case  Study."  Before  or  at  the  time  a  child  is 
accepted  and  received,  whether  for  temporary  care  or  as  a 
permanent  ward,  an  examination  should  be  made  by  a  com- 
petent physician.  This  examination  should  be  as  elaborate  and 
complete  as  an  examination  for  life  insurance,  and  should  be 
fully  recorded  on  proper  blanks. 

This  personal  examination  should  be  preceded  by  or  in  direct 
connection  with  a  detailed  diagnosis  of  the  child's  family  and 


CHILD  CARE  IN  INSTITUTIONS  81 

environmental  relations.  In  order  to  know  whether  or  not  to 
receive  a  child,  and  if  received  what  to  do  with  him  or  her,  an 
intensive  study  of  many  matters  is  essential.  The  ordinary 
cases  of  dependency  require  the  division  of  the  inquiry  into 
two  related  sections,  and  to  make  clear  to  the  inexperienced 
just  what  a  "case  study"  implies,  the  writer  again  quotes  from 
the  advance  sheets  of  his  book  on  "Child-placing  in  Families," 
where  this  and  other  essentials  are  described  in  detail  : 

1.  Study  of  the  Family.  The  personalities  of  parents  and  other  rela- 
tives must  be  traced.  Their  character  and  standing  in  the  community, 
their  mental  strength  and  education,  their  vocations  and  financial  ability 
must  be  ascertained.  It  is  also  necessary  to  know  their  physical  con- 
dition, the  state  of  their  health,  whether  or  not  they  have  tuberculosis, 
syphilis,  or  any  other  infectious  or  transmissible  disease;  their  personal 
habits  in  regard  to  intemperance,  gambling,  begging,  or  other  objection- 
able practices;  their  religious  faith  and  connections;  their  personal  rela- 
tions to  the  child  or  children  involved,  as  to  affection,  control,  and  dis- 
cipline, proper  training,  kindness  or  cruelty.  If  inability  to  give  the  chil- 
dren proper  homes  and  care  is  shown,  it  will  be  necessary  to  estimate 
whether  or  not  such  disabilities  are  merely  temporary  or  are  incurable 
or  permanent. 

2.  Study  of  the  Child  Itself.  This  involves  not  only  the  child's  per- 
sonality at  the  time  of  examination  but  also  matters  related  to  past 
experiences,  present  conditions,  and  future  prospects.  Six  lines  of  inquiry 
are  suggested: 

a.  A  Study  of  the  Child's  Heredity.  To  discover  if  possible  whether  it 
is  likely  to  be  a  victim  of  feeble-mindedness,  insanity,  epilepsy,  or 
syphilis;  or  liable  to  develop  tendencies  toward  alcoholism  or  tuberculosis. 

b.  The  Child's  Previous  Environment.  Its  associations,  and  oppor- 
tunities— its  home  life,  school  work,  church  and  Sunday  school  privileges, 
neighborhood  conditions  and  personal  companionships. 

c.  Of  the  Child's  Physical  Condition.  This  will  include  a  thorough 
examination  by  a  competent  physician  in  regard  to  the  eyes,  ears,  nose, 
throat,  teeth,  skin,  heart,  lungs,  digestive  apparatus,  and  all  bodily  organs 
and  functions. 

d.  Of  the  Child's  Mentality.  This  involves  a  psychological  examina- 
tion by  an  expert,  using  the  Binet-Simon  and  other  tests,  for  all  children 
over  three  years  of  age,  to  determine  normality  or  abnormality,  special 
aptitudes,  relative  mental  age,  and  educational  progress.  In  some  cases 
additional  study  will  be  required  if  children  are  found  erratic,  emotionally 
upset,  or  nervously  disordered,  in  which  case  a  psychiatrist  should  be 
consulted. 

e.  A  Social  Study  of  the  Child.  One  is  exceedingly  important,  in  order 
to  determine  what  (kind  of  associations  within  the  institution,  or)  kind  of  a 
home  will  be  best  for  it.  This  will  determine  its  disposition  and  its  prefer- 
ences, its  likes  and  dislikes,  its  attractiveness  or  unattractiveness ;  and  in 
an  older  child  its  acquired  habits  and  manners.  The  facts  obtained  should 
be  definitely  recorded. 

f.  A  Study  of  Vocational  Experiences.  The  possibilities  of  children 
old  enough  to  have  worked,  or  who  will  soon  be  of  an  age  to  begin  work 
for  wages  should  also  be  considered.* 

*  Child-placing  in  Families,  W.  H.  Slingerland,  Ph.  D.,  Department  of  Child- 
helping,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,   1918,  pp.  86-88. 


82  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Legal  Reception.  Two  principal  methods  of  legal  reception 
are  in  use  in  most  states,  including  Oregon — ^written  instru- 
ments usually  called  ^'surrenders,"  and  court  orders,  usually- 
issued  by  juvenile  courts.  The  writer  deprecates  the  use  of 
surrenders,  signed  by  parents  or  guardians,  because  those  who 
sign  them  are  nearly  always  under  special  pressure  of  poverty, 
disease,  or  family  trouble,  and  in  such  stress  of  mind  as  to  be 
unable  to  properly  decide  what  is  best  for  them  or  their  chil- 
dren. There  are  so  few  cases  where  the  surrender  method  can 
be  wisely  and  safely  used  that  it  should  be  entirely  abolished. 
The  only  document  of  this  nature  that  is  approvable  is  a  written 
agreement  providing  for  temporary  care,  under  which  no  legal 
or  vital  rights  are  involved. 

Court  orders  are  of  two  kinds:  1.  Partial  or  temporary 
orders,  by  which  the  court  assigns  children  to  an  agency 
or  institution  for  care  and  protection,  but  retains  both 
authority  and  guardianship.  Such  wards  may  be  recalled  by 
the  court  at  any  time,  and  assigned  elsewhere  or  returned  to 
relatives  and  friends.  2.  Complete  or  permanent  orders, 
which  make  the  children  fully  the  wards  of  the  organization, 
the  agency  or  institution  having  guardianship  of  their 
persons,  and  the  right  to  give  consent  to  their  adoption,  if 
they  are  placed-out  in  family  homes.  It  is  our  belief  that 
agencies  and  institutions  should  have  full  control  and  guardian- 
ship of  the  persons  of  the  children  in  permanent  care,  and  the 
right  to  consent  to  their  adoption ;  but  this  relation  and  author- 
ity should  be  conferred  always  under  proper  statutes  by  courts 
of  competent  jurisdiction. 

Types  of  Housing.  The  institution  is  a  clinic  for  medical  and 
surgical  examinations  and  treatment,  and  for  psychological 
examinations  to  ascertain  mental  age  and  characteristics;  it 
is  a  ^'school  for  brief  courses  in  manners  and  conduct,"  and  a 
"place  where  human  love  and  Divine  teaching  and  promise  may 
reach  lives  that  have  too  often  previously  suffered  physical, 
mental  and  spiritual  neglect."  The  day  is  done  for  the  old 
idea  that  "any  old  shelter,  managed  in  any  old  way,  is  good 
enough  for  charity  children."  Twentieth  century  ideas  require 
good  buildings  and  if  possible  modem  conveniences  and 
equipment. 


CHILD  CARE  IN  INSTITUTIONS  83 

The  two  types  of  housing  described  in  the  first  section  are 
both  represented  in  Oregon ;  but  all  the  large  institutions  are 
still  congregate,  and  the  small  ones  are  classified  as  cottage, 
mainly,  because  of  the  small  number  of  inmates.  One  institu- 
tion, the  State  Institution  for  Feeble-minded,  is  nominally  classi- 
fied as  '*large  cottage"  but  buildings  accommodating  80  or  more 
inmates  can  be  called  "cottages"  only  because  the  institution 
so  terms  them.  One  private  institution,  now  occupying  a  large 
congregate  building  of  the  ancient  sort,  expects  to  build  a 
new  plant  soon,  and  is  seriously  considering  the  cottage  type. 
It  is  hoped  that  its  officers  will  insist  on  a  cottage  plant  when 
the  time  comes  to  decide  the  matter. 

The  Los  Angeles  Orphans'  Home  set  the  Children's  Home 
of  Portland  a  fine  example.  In  1911  it  left  a  large  congregate 
plant  in  the  **downtown"  section,  and  erected  a  fine  cottage 
plant  at  Colgrove,  a  suburb  of  the  city,  at  a  cost  of  over 
$100,000.  There  is  an  administration  building,  with  offices, 
reception  parlors,  general  kitchen  and  dining  room,  and  indi- 
vidual rooms  for  ten  girls.  Several  cottages  are  alike,  each 
with  a  capacity  for  15,  some  for  boys  and  some  for  girls.  One 
cottage,  a  complete  domestic  unit  including  kitchen  and  dining 
room,  is  for  children  of  both  sexes  from  two  to  six  years  of  age. 
All  of  these  cottages  are  connected  with  the  main  building  by 
a  covered  archway;  and  all  are  steam  heated  from  a  central 
plant.  It  is  a  fine  modern  institution.  The  writer  heartily 
endorses  the  cottage  plan,  to  take  the  place  of  the  ancient  con- 
gregate "institutionalizers,"  and  hopes  that  several  of  Oregon's 
child-caring  institutions  will  erect  cottage  plants  within  the 
next  decade. 

Physical  Care  of  Wards.  It  was  suggested  that  institutions 
in  the  same  community  often  show  extremes  of  good  and  poor 
care  of  their  wards,  implying  radically  different  ideas  as  to 
what  should  be  done  for  those  who  are  classed  as  "charity 
children."  The  writer  has  not  been  "investigating"  any  of 
the  institutions  described  in  this  report,  but  he  has  seen  several 
things  that  would  bear  improving,  and  these  were  not  confined 
to  the  smallest  and  poorest,  but  often  were  apparent  in  some 
of  the  largest  and  richest  of  the  entire  list.  Perhaps  the  enum- 
erating of  some  important  elements  of  right  physical  care  of 


84  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

children  in  institutions  will  stimulate  improvement  without 
pointing  out  individuals. 

1.  Dietary.  Every  child-caring  institution  should  have  a  well  arranged 
and  varied  dietary.  Few  are  now  giving  sufficient  attention  to  food  values 
or  to  the  necessity  of  building  strong  bodies.  In  some  there  is  an  excessive 
use  of  starchy  foods,  with  nothing  to  balance  them.  The  deepest  ruts  in 
some  institutions  lead  from  the  kitchen  to  the  dining  room;  that  is,  at  all 
seasons,  the  same  food  takes  the  same  track.  We  know  of  institutions 
that  have  "bean  day;  soup  day;  meat  day;  fish  day";  and  so  on,  the  year 
around.  You  know  in  the  morning  just  what  will  be  on  the  table  that  day 
at  every  meal;  and  it  is  a  gastronomical  crime  against  childhood  to 
perpetuate  such  a  system.  Menus  should  not  be  established  because  they 
are  easy  for  the  cook,  but  should  be  arranged  and  rearranged  for  the 
benefit  of  the  children. 

The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  has  set  a  good  example  for  other 
Oregon  institutions.  A  graduate  dietitian  has  been  put  in  charge  of  the 
receiving  home  kitchen  and  dining  room,  with  good  results  in  the  health 
and  development  of  its  wards.  The  food  cost  is  no  greater,  the  meals 
are  more  varied  and  appetizing  than  formerly,  they  possess  the  proper 
elements  to  meet  the  needs  of  growing  children,  and  the  service  is  much 
improved  in  every  way.  The  child-caring  institutions  of  the  State  will  do 
well  to  correspond  with  the  Oregon  Agricultural  College,  where  dietitians 
are  trained,  with  a  view  to  securing  the  services  of  a  graduate  of  that 
department  as  an  addition  to  the  regular  staff  of  workers. 

2.  Dining  Room.  Many  institutions  ought  to  improve  their  dining 
rooms  and  their  equipment.  They  are  imitating  the  orphanages  of  50 
years  ago.  The  writer  has  seen  within  a  few  weeks  long  oilcloth-covered 
tables,  with  backless  benches  for  seats,  very  poor  and  discreditable  dishes 
and  cutlery,  no  napkins,  and  a  general  air  of  desolation  in  the  dining  room 
itself,  which  was  pervaded  with  a  "stale  institutional  smell."  Tablecloths 
and  napkins  have  a  distinct  educational  value,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
need  for  decent  service.  Chairs  should  take  the  place  of  the  rude  benches, 
and  cheerfully  decorated  walls  should  surround  the  transformed  tables. 
As  far  as  possible  light  and  beauty  should  be  utilized  to  make  the  youthful 
diners  happy,  and  promote  the  digestion  of  well-selected  food. 

3.  Milk  Supply.  To  disregard  the  sources  of  the  institution's  milk 
supply  is  to  invite  epidemics  of  typhoid,  diptheria,  scarlet  fever,  sore 
throat,  and  bowel  troubles,  often  involving  deaths  of  both  children  and 
adults.  When  the  cows,  stables,  and  farm  hands  are  dirty;  when  pails 
and  cans  are  not  sterilized;  when  milk  is  left  exposed  to  flies  and  filth; 
or  when  the  cows  are  actually  diseased,  the  milk  becomes  alive  with 
bacteria,  and  sickness  and  death  result.  Every  executive  officer  of  an 
institution  should  know,  not  take  it  for  granted,  that  none  of  these  things 
is  true  in  regard  to  the  milk  supply  of  the  institution. 

4.  Bathing  Facilities.  Adequate  bathing  facilities  include  both  an 
adequate  number  of  tubs,  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water,  and  well- 
arranged  showers.  There  is  a  physical  and  a  moral  tonic  in  frequent 
baths.  Many  superintendents  now  favor  the  shower  for  all  purposes 
except  for  the  special  soaking  and  scrubbing  of  newcomers,  for  the  babies 
and  littlest  children,  and  the  frail  and  delicate  ones,  all  of  whom  must  be 
aided  by  attendants.  A  few  large  institutions  may  be  able  to  afford  a 
bathing  pool,  but  this  is  possible  only  to  those  financially  favored. 

5.  Toilet  Articles.  Each  child  should  have  for  his  own  exclusive  use 
a  number  of  toilet  articles,  including  comb,  hair-brush,  tooth-brush,  tooth- 
paste, soap,  and  towels.  It  is  usual  to  keep  these  in  the  wash  room.  Each 
child  should  have  a  small  case  or  compartment  to  hold  them,  marked  with 
his  name.  Towels  should  not  be  hung  so  closely  together  as  to  touch,  for 
if  this  happens  the  danger  is  almost  as  great  as  the  use  of  a  common 
towel,  that  former  spreader  of  eye  troubles  and  skin  disease. 


CHILD  CARE  IN  INSTITUTIONS  85 

6.  Dormitories.  Formerly  it  was  customary  to  have  large  rooms  with 
from  20  to  100  beds  in  them  for  institutional  children.  This  type  of 
dormitories  is  not  extinct  in  Oregon,  or  in  many  other  states.  But  the 
tendency  of  all  progressive  institutions  is  to  have  fewer  children  occupy 
the  same  sleeping  room,  thus  promoting  both  modesty  and  healthfulness. 
Seldom  should  there  be  more  than  10  beds  in  a  single  room.  The  older 
the  children,  the  smaller  the  dormitory  unit.  Movable  screens  and  cur- 
tains are  used  in  some  institutions  to  give  a  minimum  of  privacy  to  the 
larger  children.  Boys  and  girls  in  their  "teens"  should  be  given  either 
individual  rooms  or  cubicles,  or  rooms  for  three,  or  four,  never  for  two. 
Every  possible  means  should  be  employed  to  avoid  or  prevent  the  wrong 
or  precocious  development  of  sex  ideas. 

It  is  very  insanitary  to  crowd  dormitories  or  smaller  sleeping  rooms. 
As  a  minimum  each  child  should  have  about  50  square  f eef  of  floor  space, 
and  not  less  than  500  cubic  feet  of  air  surrounding  him  in  his  sleeping 
quarters.  The  New  York  law  requires  600  cubic  feet  of  air  for  each 
dormitory  inmate  in  a  child-caring  institution.  Some  dormitories,  even  in 
Oregon,  have  only  small  windows  on  a  single  side,  with  no  cross  ventila- 
tion. The  ideal  in  this  respect  is  reached  in  a  few  institutions  where  large 
windows  on  three  sides  provide  unlimited  ventilation.  The  use  of  exterior 
"sleeping  porches"  is  also  heartily  commended. 

7.  Care  of  Infants.  Oregon  has  at  least  two  institutions  engaged 
mainly  in  the  care  of  infants  and  very  young  children,  besides  four  that'^ 
care  for  mothers  and  babies.  In  all  of  these  there  seem  to  be  trained 
nurses,  good  medical  car6  and  inspection,  careful  general  management, 
and  a  lower  death  rate  than  in  mbst  similar  institutions  known  to  the 
writer.  Many  foundling  asylums  throughout  the  United  States  have  an 
average  mortality  among  their  inmates  of  over  55  per  cent  in  the  first  year 
of  life.  The  Oregon  institutions  have  done  much  better  than  this,  and 
should  have  credit  for  their  excellent  work,  which  ought  to  continue  on  the 
present  high  plane. 

There  is  another  way  to  care  for  dependent  babies  that  is  now  used 
extensively  in  many  states,  and  that  produces  even  better  results  than 
the  finest  institutional  care.  In  several  states  practically  all  such  babies 
under  one  year  old  are  boarded  in  selected  private  families,  no  more  than 
two  or  three  to  be  in  the  care  of  one  woman  at  the  same  time.  This  plan 
gives  individual  care  to  every  infant,  and  prevents  epidemics  and  the  spread 
of  bowel  trouble  and  other  diseases.  The  cost  is  no  greater  than  good 
nursery  care,  averaging  from  $3.00  to  $5.00  per  week,  according  to  age 
and  condition.  The  society  or  institution  arranging  for  such  care  of 
infants  must  supervise  thoroughly,  by  a  trained  nurse  and  an  attending 
physician. 

8.  Clothing.  The  wearing  of  a  uniform  dress  by  the  children  has 
been  abandoned  by  all  up-to-date  institutions.  Fifty  years  ago  it  was 
a  very  common  institutional  practice.  Nor  should  an  institution  use  the 
scarcely  more  desirable  plan  of  clothing  the  home  group  from  a  mass  of 
donated  stuff,  assorted  by  sizes,  and  not  belonging  to  anybody  in  particular. 
Clean  and  attractive  clothing,  not  necessarily  expensive,  but  definitely 
assigned  to  each  child,  so  that  it  is  his  own,  will  help  cultivate  personality 
and  self-reliance. 

9.  Cleanliness.  The  standard  of  cleanliness  is  that  of  the  average 
private  home.  If  this  standard  is  maintained,  the  visitor  will  not  meet  at 
the  door  that  "indescribable  institutional  smell"  which  is  inseparably 
associated  with  the  average  orphanage  of  the  old-fashioned  type.  And  of 
course  the  mingled  malodors  of  ill-kept  lavatories,  filthy  kitchens,  littered 
storerooms,  and  neglected  beds,  will  be  agreeably  absent.  Flies  and  mos- 
quitoes, those  personal  torments  of  children  and  evil  carriers  of  disease, 
will  be  killed  or  driven  out  of  doors,  and  every  door  and  window  will  be 
equipped  with  first-class  screens.  Cleanliness  is  the  basal  essential  of  health 
in  an  institution.    Yet,  as  a  word  of  caution,  let  it  be  remembered  that  even 


86  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

cleanliness  may  be  carried  to  an  extreme.  There  is  a  golden  mean  in  home 
and  personal  cleanliness,  as  well  as  in  matters  of  conduct  and  descipline. 
Boys  and  girls  as  well  as  older  people  may  be  made  absolutely  unhappy  by 
too  careful  housekeeping,  and  the  insistence  upon  order  and  exactness  of 
condition.  Really,  the  institution  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  children,  and  the 
plant  should  be  so  used  as  to  make  them  as  happy  and  comfortable  as 
possible. 

10.  Great  emphasis  is  now  being  put  upon  prevocational  and  industrial 
training  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  a  necessity  that  all  institutions 
for  dependent  and  delinquent  children,  and  in  some  degree  those  caring 
for  defective  children,  especially  the  morons  and  the  physically  crippled 
and  deformed,  heed  this  call  of  the  age.  Some  measure  of  such  training 
should  be  inaugurated  in  every  institution  or  be  made  really  accessible  to 
all  children  tell  years  of  age  or  older.  Many  of  the  leading  institutions 
are  sending  their  older  wards  out  to  special  schools,  business  colleges, 
dressmaking  establishments,  and  other  manufactories,  to  fit  them  for 
self-support  as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough  to  go  out  and  do  for  them- 
selves. Some  of  the  Oregon  institutions  need  to  "speed  up"  in  this  regard. 
A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient. 

11.  Records.  Closely  connected  with  all  problems  of  admission,  proper 
medical  and  psychological  care,  and  individual  treatment  of  wards,  is  the 
necessity  for  adequate  records  of  institutional  children.  The  importance 
of  this  matter  can  not  be  too  emphatically  stated,  for  present  conditions 
are  deporable.  Several  Oregon  child-caring  institutions  have  no  records 
worthy  of  the  name.  No  institution  does  its  duty  by  its  wards  that  neglects 
to  put  down  in  black  and  white  every  essential  matter  connected  with 
their  institutional  life.  The  records  should  also  include,  whenever  it  is 
possible,  an  outline  of  each  child's  family  history,  obtained  before  or  at  the 
time  of  reception.  All  legal  or  court  action  in  regard  to  each  child  should 
be  noted,  and  the  disposition  of  the  child  when  it  leaves  the  institution 
should  be  clearly  stated,  with  later  notation  based,  upon  visits  and  corres- 
pondence, giving  details  concerning  its  welfare  and  location.  To  do  these 
things  for  the  child's  sake  is  only  decent  and  humane,  and  they  may 
be  very  important  in  after  years  as  relatives  seek  to  trace  the  heirs  of 
property,  and  for  various  civic  and  social  reasons. 

Suitable  forms  for  such  records  can  now  be  obtained  at  very  moderate 
cost.  The  Department  of  Child-helping  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
New  York  City,  will  give  advice  and  information  on  this  matter  without 
cost  save  postage.  One  of  its  publications.  Elements  of  Record  Keeping 
for  Child-Helping  Institutions,  by  Georgia  G.  Ralph,  is  a  real  mine  of  infor- 
mation at  small  cost.  The  State,  by  its  supervisory  board  or  secretary, 
should  devise  and  distribute  to  all  child-caring  institutions  the  necessary 
elements  of  record  keeping,  sufficient  to  make  possible  regular  and 
uniform  reports  and  statistics  from  year  to  year.* 

*  Arranged  from  Child-Placing  in  Families,  op.  cit. 


VII 
SUPERVISION  OF  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK 

TWO  types  of  supervision  are  essential  to  efficient  and 
satisfactory  child  welfare  work — that  of  agencies  and 
institutions  by  a  proper  State  authority,  and  of  children 
and  homes  by  organizations  that  do  child-placing  in  families. 
To  these  the  attention  of  the  people  and  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature should  be  definitely  called. 

State  Supervision.  Adequate  State  supervision  of  child- 
helping  agencies  and  institutions  is  very  important.  It  is  the 
greatest  exterior  force  that  can  be  applied  to  organized  child- 
caring  work  to  improve  its  quality  and  lead  to  its  standardiza- 
tion. If  tactfully  conducted  under  statutory  powers,  it  will 
materially  stimulate  progress  and  improvement  in  all  child 
welfare  organizations. 

No  State  can  do  its  duty  by  the  people  of  the  commonwealth 
that  fails  adequately  to  supervise  the  agencies  and  institutions 
that  it  has  incorporated,  and  which,  under  private  manage- 
ment, are  caring  for  a  majority  of  its  dependent  children,  and 
some  of  its  delinquents.  Likewise  large  and  definite  improve- 
ment and  rapid  standardizing  of  child-caring  work  can  be 
expected  only  when  there  is  proper  and  intensified  State  super- 
vision, given  by  well  qualified  agents,  acting  under  clear  and 
definite  laws.  The  supervision  should  include  both  child- 
placing  agencies  and  institutions*  for  continued  care. 

Every  institution  included  in  this  study,  Catholic  or  Protest- 
ant, would  be  greatly  benefitted  by  such  supervision.  The 
systems  of  supervision  established  in  the  various  states,  all 
have  their  imperfections  and  are  properly  subject  to  more  or 
less  of  criticism.  Even  those  most  recently  enacted,  and  which 
may  be  supposed  to  have  avoided  previous  mistakes,  are  defi- 
cient in  some  important  respects.  The  only  perfect  systems 
are  theoretical,  and  even  then  perfect  only  to  their  authors  and 
advocates.  Nevertheless,  it  is  universally  conceded  that  even 
the  imperfect  systems  that  are  in  operation  are  desirable  and 
necessary,  and  that  they  are  being  improved  year  by  year 
under  the  teachings  of  experience.    No  particular  form  is  now 

87 


88  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

insisted  upon  or  recommended,  and  each  commonwealth, 
according  to  its  special  needs,  is  expected  to  evolve  its  own 
system  of  supervision. 

The  essential  ideas  of  supervision  are  aptly  stated  in  the 
paragraph  on  State  inspection  in  the  Conclusions  of  the  White 
House  Conference,  called  by  President  Roosevelt  in  1909 : 

The  proper  training  of  destitute  children  being  essential  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  State,  it  is  a  sound  public  policy  that  the  State  through  its 
duly  authorized  representatives  should  inspect  the  work  of  all  agencies 
which  care  for  dependent  children,  whether  by  institutional  or  by  home- 
finding  methods,  and  whether  supported  by  public  or  private  funds.  Such 
inspection  should  be  made  by  trained  agents,  should  be  thorough,  and  the 
results  thereof  should  be  reported  to  the  responsible  authorities  of  the 
institution  or  agency  concerned.  The  information  so  secured  should  be 
confidential — not  to  be  disclosed  except  by  competent  authority.* 

At  the  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction  in 
1911,  the  Rev.  Father  Francis  H.  Gavisk  of  the  Indiana  State 
Board  of  Charities  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  State 
supervision.    In  his  general  address  he  said: 

The  opposition  to  state  supervision  of  private  charity,  once  so  decided, 
is  gradually  lessening,  as  the  reasons  for  it  are  more  sanely  weighed.  * 
*  *  The  success  of  such  supervision  will  depend  upon  the  spirit  in  which 
it  is  .conducted.  *  *  *  jf  irritating  and  mischievous,  it  will  add  to 
the  burdens  of  the  administrators  and  the  confusion  of  the  institution;  if 
kindly,  tactful  and  wise,  it  will  help  forward  the  institution  and  encourage 
its  administrators.t 

State  Supervisory  Boards.  There  are  four  principal  methods 
or  systems  of  administration  in  operation  in  the  various  states 
that  now  exercise  more  or  less  supervision  over  organized  child 
welfare  work.  They  are  as  follows:  The  State  Board  of 
Charities  system,  the  oldest  in  form,  and  now  operated  nomi- 
nally or  actually  in  24  states  and  the  District  of  Columbia ;  the 
State  Board  of  Control  system,  in  operation  more  or  less 
effectively  in  16  states;  the  State  Commissioner  of  Charities 
system,  operated  in  two  states;  and  the  Director  of  Public 
Welfare  system,  for  which  the  State  of  Illinois  forms  a  class 
of  one. 
^  Oregon  is  classed  in  the  State  Board  of  Control  list,  but  now 
has  merely  nominal  supervision  over  those  private  charities 
that  receive  aid  from  public  funds.  As  above  noted  in  the 
quotation  from  the  Conclusions  of  the  White  House  Conference, 
this  is  only  a  small  part  of  what  is  included  in  really  adequate 


•  Conference  on  the  Care  of  Dependent  Children.     Proceedings,   1909,  p.   194. 
t  National  Conference   of  Charities  and  Correction,   Proceedings,   1911,   p.   12. 


SUPERVISION  OF  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  89 

supervision.  Its  main  purpose  would  not  be  to  follow  up  a  few 
dollars  raised  by  taxation,  or  to  enforce  the  mandatory  require- 
ments of  the  law,  but  to  secure  the  welfare  of  the  thousands 
of  immature  citizens  who  are  handled  by  the  agencies  or  are 
held  in  continued  care  by  the  institutions,  but  who  are  also 
and  always  the  wards  of  the  great  mother  State. 

The  duties  of  the  supervisory  board,  when  fully  operative 
under  sanctions  of  law,  include  wise  counsel  on  problems  of 
finance  and  administration,  expert  advice  on  the  location, 
types,  and  best  architectural  plans  for  buildings,  aid  in  arrang- 
ing medical,  surgical,  and  psychological  clinics  for  the  sick  or 
defectives,  distribution  of  scientific  menus  and  dietaries  for 
all  sorts  of  children,  enforcement  of  methods  of  physical  care 
that  will  promote  health  and  right  development,  as  well  as 
obedience  to  the  requirements  of  the  State  laws.  There  is  an 
immense  field  for  State  supervision,  with  proper  agents 
selected  on  the  basis  of  social  and  scientific  training,  and 
representing  both  the  authority  of  the  commonwealth  and  the 
best  ideas  of  modern  social  service.  The  State  of  Oregon  will 
be  neglectful  of  its  duty  if  it  fails  to  provide  an  adequate  system 
of  State  supervision. 

Essentials  of  State  Supervision.  The  systems  of  supervision 
most  efficient  are  those  that  closely  approach  the  requirements 
of  the  following  important  essentials: 

1.  Proper  power  and  authority  must  be  vested  by  legislative  action  in 
a  suitable  state  board  or  department. 

2.  The  board  and  its  working  force  should  be  absolutely  nonpartisan 
and  nonsectarian. 

3.  Its  entire  service  should  be  impartially  administered. 

4.  Only  trained  or  experienced  agents  of  high  quality  should  be 
employed. 

5.  The  state  should  make  liberal  appropriations  for  its  support. 

6.  It  should  have  authority  over  all  sorts  of  institutions,  whether 
aided  by  public  funds  or  wholly  dependent  upon  private  benevolence. 

7.  It  should  have  power  to  compel  the  rectification  of  any  neglect  or 
abuses  of  children  in  institutions,  proper  supervision  by  agencies  of 
children  placed-out  in  families,  and  right  to  transfer  any  children 
improperly  located  or  placed. 

8.  It  should  establish  minimum  standards  of  child  care,  both  physical 
and  administrative,  and  require  the  keeping  of  systematic  records  of  all 
children,  service,  and  finance. 

9.  It  should  grant  certificates  of  approval  annually,  after  careful 
inspection,  to  all  approved  agencies  and  institutions. 

10.  It  should  wisely  and  tactfully  enforce  all  laws,  but  this  work  should 
be  secondary  to  efforts  to  improve  the  service  rendered  to  the  children  and 
to  secure  their  welfare.* 


*  Arranged  from  "Child-placing  in  Families,"  op.  cit,,  p.  161. 
Slg:.  4. 


90  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Supervision  of  Children  and  Homes.  No  agency  or  institu- 
tion can  do  its  duty  by  the  children  placed-out  by  it,  and  for 
whom  it  is  responsible,  without  adequate  inspection  and  study 
of  them  after  placement,  and  clear  knowledge  of  the  homes  in 
which  they  are  located.  Letters  from  various  persons  and 
reports  from  interested  friends  are  valuable,  but  nothing  can 
take  the  place  of  personal  visits  by  trained  agents,  unan- 
nounced and  unexpected. 

Adequate  supervision  does  not  mean  the  same  thing  in 
different  forms  of  work  and  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Children  placed-out  in  boarding  homes  or  working  homes  must 
be  visited  oftener,  and  the  conditions  surrounding  them 
scrutinized  more  keenly,  than  is  necessary  for  those  placed  in 
free  homes,  after  the  first  few  months.  Intensive  work  is 
done  in  the  short  distances  and  congested  populations  of 
eastern  states  that  would  be  impossible  elsewhere.  The  Boston 
Children's  Aid  Society  visits  its  wards  four  or  five  times  a 
year,  and  employs  a  visiting  agent  for  each  45  children.  Some 
middle  and  far  western  agencies  really  see  their  wards  only 
once  in  several  years,  and  have  a  visiting  agent  for  from  300 
to  500  children.  Somewhere  between  the  extremes  is  the 
golden  mean  that  expresses  good  supervisory  work  for  the 
average  agency  or  institution. 

In  agencies  that  use  both  free  and  boarding  homes  for 
younger  children  it  is  the  general  practice  to  visit  the  boarding 
homes  more  frequently  than  the  free  homes.  Eastern  agencies 
that  do  a  large  boarding-out  work  put  boys  and  girls  under 
increased  observation  when  they  reach  the  age  where  they  can 
begin  self-support,  and  a  change  is  made  from  boarding  to 
free  or  working  homes,  both  because  of  the  danger  of  exploita- 
tion and  the  problems  of  adolescence.  Placed-out  babies  also 
require  special  and  frequent  supervision. 

These  needs  and  dangers  seem  not  to  have  been  fully  recog- 
nized by  organizations  in  the  western  states,  which  have  a 
tendency  to  relax  rather  than  tighten  their  supervision  as  boys 
and  girls  grow  older;  and  some  seem  to  think  that  because 
babies  are  quite  generally  taken  for  affectional  reasons  and 
intense  desire  for  a  child  to  love  and  rear,  they  should  be  dis- 
turbed as  little  as  possible.  The  eastern  agencies  have  facts 
and  logic  on  their  side,  and  we  believe  slackening  of  supervision 


SUPERVISION  OF  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  91 

with  passing  years,  or  neglect  of  placed-out  babies,  will  prove 
unwise  and  injurious.  Personal  supervision  is  a  necessity,  but 
in  the  matter  of  frequency  of  visitation  one  must  use  common 
sense.  What  is  requisite  is  that  the  child's  welfare  be  always 
assured. 

Essentials  of  Agency  Supervision.  Cong  study  and  a  wide 
reading  of  literature  on  this  subject  have  so  far  shown  no  clear 
expression  from  any  expert  that  will  define  adequate  super- 
vision for  all  agencies  and  places.  Yet  it  is  possible  to  state  a 
few  essentials,  that  will  apply  anywhere,  for  the  guidance  of 
students,  officials,  and  organization  workers. 

1.  Adequate  supervision  calls  for  intimate  and  continuous  oversight, 
sufficient  to  secure  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  children  and  homes 
under  care,  so  far  as  their  mutual  relations  are  concerned. 

2.  The  more  careful  the  original  selection  of  families  and  the  fitting  in 
of  the  right  children  are  done,  the  less  frequent  are  the  necessary  visits 
for  after-supervision. 

3.  It  is  a  dangerous  and  improper  thing  to  place  such  confidence  in 
the  conditions  of  any  foster  home  that  supervisory  visits  are  omitted 
entirely,  or  are  made  so  infrequently  that  they  cease  to  be  really 
supervisory. 

4.  It  almost  goes  without  saying  that  in  event  of  any  adverse  rumor 
a  personal  visit  by  a  trained  and  experienced  agent  should  be  made  without 
delay. 

5.  Even  in  societies  where  the  main  part  of  the  placements  are  in  free 
homes,  and  supposedly  permanent,  not  more  than  100  children  can  be 
adequately  supervised  by  a  single  agent. 

6.  Even  in  organizations  that  place  almost  wholly  in  free  and  perman- 
ent homes,  it  should  be  the  minimum  requirement  that  each  placed-out 
minor  child  be  visited  at  least  once  a  year. 

7.  Training,  experience,  and  continued  service  on  the  same  field,  are 
indispensable  to  the  best  success  in  visiting  agents.  The  Boston  Children's 
Aid  Society  holds :  "The  continuity  of  service  for  visitors  of  a  placing-out 
society  for  at  least  five-year  periods  is  an  absolute  essential."  This  view 
is  extreme;  but  that  there  are  great  advantages  in  continuity  of  work 
by  good  agents  no  one  can  doubt.* 

Recommendations.    It  is  most  earnestly  recommended  that 

Oregon  at  once  establish  a  system  of  State  supervision  on  the^^ 

lines  laid  down  in  the  first  part  of  this  section.    It  will  cost  a 

little  money,  but  it  will  have  large  results  in  the  welfare  of  the 

little  citizens  concerned.    Then  let  this  supervisory  department 

or  commissioner  under  the  laws  of  the  State  require  that  all 

agencies  or  institutions  supervise  their  placed-out  wards  oir 

the  plane  of  the  seven  essentials  just  presented.    Let  it  again 

be  said,  all  things  connected  with  supervision  to  be  right  and 

successful  must  be  absolutely  nonpartisan  and  nonsectarian  in 

their  personnel,  methods,  and  action. 


*  Condensed    from    advance    sheets    of    "Child-placing   In    Families,"    op.    cit., 
pp.   143-161. 


VIII 
PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES 

ONE  great  purpose  of  the  Legislature  in  ordering  this 
study  was  to  have  the  causes  of  dependency,  delin- 
quency and  defectiveness  "ascertained  and  classified 
so  that  ameliorative  measures  may  be  taken  by  the  next  Legis- 
lature to  check  or  prevent  the  recurrence  of  these  cases."  It 
would  therefore  be  a  serious  omission  to  fail  to  discuss  some 
of  these  causes,  and  to  consider  a  number  of  preventive 
measures  and  agencies  now  in  operation  within  the  State. 

Causes  Are  Social  Problems.  To  fully  analyze  the  causes 
of  these  conditions  would  require  a  study  of  practically  all  of 
the  sources  of  trouble  and  misfortune  that  exist  in  modem 
society.  As  social  questions,  child  dependency,  delinquency 
and  defectivesness,  commonly  do  not  basically  pertain  to  the 
children  themselves.  For  the  most  part  they  are  related 
primarily  to  the  parents  and  secondarily  to  the  environment. 
In  the  main,  the  children  are  the  victims  of  parental  failure 
and  environmental  unfitness.  Homeless  or  wayward  children 
imply  the  absence  of  one  or  both  parents;  the  neglect  of 
responsible  parents  or  other  guardians,  or  in  exceptional  cases 
the  inroads  of  disease  or  special  social  calamities.  To  answer 
the  child  question  we  must  analyze  the  causes  of  crime,  disease 
and  poverty.  Remove  these  from  the  body  politic,  and  in  the 
sense  of  its  consideration  here  the  child  question  will  practically 
be  eliminated. 

It  is  poverty,  disease  and  crime  that  give  to  us  most  of  the 
children  dependent  in  one  way  or  another  upon  the  public.  Flat 
pocketbooks  and  mislaid  consciences  furnish  us  the  large  and 
increasing  number  of  deserted  families.  Lax  moral  ideas  and 
faulty  family  discipline  are  at  the  root  of  the  increasing  delin- 
quency of  which  our  social  workers  complain.  The  immorality 
of  some  of  our  people  causes  an  immense  amount  of  child 
defectiveness;  the  social  diseases  in  conjunction  with  alco- 
holics accounting  for  a  large  part  of  the  feeble-minded,  epileptic, 
and  malformed  children. 

When  diseases  of  all  kinds  are  absolutely  conquered;  when 
poverty  ceases  to  afflict  any  portion  of  our  people ;  when  indus- 
trial wrongs  are  righted,  and  there  is  steady  work  and  a  living 

92 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  93 

wage  for  the  "bread  winner"  of  every  household;  when  the 
Golden  Rule  becomes  the  basis  of  our  business  and  the  main- 
spring of  our  social  action — then  the  homes  and  orphanages 
can  permanently  close  their  doors,  the  poor  directors  quit 
their  thankless  jobs,  and  relieved  Legislatures  stop  appropriat- 
ing public  funds  for  the  support  of  the  State's  unfortunates. 
But  at  present  widowhood,  wife  desertion,  parental  mean- 
ness, cruelty,  vice,  drunkenness,  illegitimacy,  degeneracy,  in 
fact  need,  wrong  and  destitution  in  every  form,  continually 
produce  problems  of  helpless  and  unprotected  childhood,  and 
send  marching  through  our  streets  and  into  our  institutions  a 
never-ending  army  of  marred  and  wronged  juveniles.  These 
are  some  of  the  causes  that  must  be  made  inoperative,  if  we 
are  to  succeed  in  checking  and  preventing  "the  recurrence  of 
these  cases." 

Preventive  Measures.  "An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a 
pound  of  cure."  Whatever  can  be  done  to  "protect  normal 
children  and  save  them  from  entering  the  dependent,  delin- 
quent and  defective  classes,"  is  far  better  than  equal  effort 
expended  after  the  lapses  have  occurred.  Attention  is  here 
called  to  a  number  of  preventive  measures  and  agencies  now 
at  work  in  Oregon,  and  that  deserve  special  support  and 
cooperation. 

Housing  Improvement.  To  the  one  who  analyzes  the  causes 
for  the  breakdown  of  many  homes  in  the  poorer  parts  of  our 
cities,  and  in  some  of  our  smaller  centers  of  population,  bad 
housing  looms  large  as  a  chief  factor  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  dependency  and  delinquency  there  prevalent.  The 
tenants  of  unfit  houses  are  poor,  but  are  not  evil  because  of 
poverty.  Small  purses  do  not  create  insanitation  nor  breed 
depravity,  but  unfit  houses  are  quagmires  that  foul  those  who 
fall  into  them.  Poverty  sends  families  into  cheaper  quarters, 
and  that  fact  does  not  make  them  delinquent  or  immoral;  but 
the  people  who  dwell  long  in  narrow,  dark,  crowded,  filthy  and 
insanitary  houses,  go  down  by  hundreds  physically,  mentally 
and  morally  under  the  miasmatic  influences  and  atmosphere. 

That  many  who  lose  their  morality,  and  become  a  menace 
to  the  rest  of  society,  could  be  saved  if  moved  into  better  homes 
and  given  better  working  conditions,  is  a  general  belief,  backed 


94  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

by  much  of  definite  experience.  The  working  girls  of  Portland 
whose  wages  will  afford  them  only  small,  ill-furnished,  unat- 
tractive rooms,  on  the  ill-kept  and  poorly-lighted  streets  of 
downtown,  would  far  less  of  them  go  to  the  devil  if  offered 
lodgings  in  nicer  houses,  with  more  attractive  surroundings,  in 
a  better  part  of  the  city.  Housing  reform  is  everywhere  a 
preventive  measure  of  the  highest  importance. 

Environment  is  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  determining 
the  welfare  of  the  family  and  of  its  individual  members. 
Environment  begins  with  the  rooms  or  house  occupied  and 
extends  indefinitely  to  the  entire  neighborhood,  ward,  district, 
or  city.  Bad  environment  is  a  serious  handicap  to  the  best  of 
families ;  it  is  ruinous  to  any  not  strong  in  mind  and  character. 
It  can  and  often  does  disintegrate  family  ties  and  ruin  every 
member.  Bad  housing  and  other  environment  cause  physical 
debility,  lessen  virility,  injure  human  mechanism,  induce 
mental  depression,  lead  to  loss  of  self  respect,  destroy  the 
sense  of  decency,  and  subvert  morality.  Improvement  of  hous- 
ing conditions  is  economically  cheaper  than  to  allow  bad  dwell- 
ings to  do  an  evil  work  upon  the  poor,  and  then  let  society  pay 
the  bills  in  hospitals,  orphanages,  reformatories,  jails  and 
prisons ;  and  good  housing  is  immensely  better  for  the  people 
involved,  as  well  as  harmonizing  more  fully  with  the  social 
ideas  of  our  time. 

Parents'  Educational  Bureau.  About  six  years  ago  Oregon 
established  a  bureau  under  this  name,  for  the  free  examination 
of  babies  and  free  instruction  of  mothers.  Its  officers  claim 
to  be  the  pioneers  in  this  work  in  the  United  States.  Similar 
organizations  and  work  are  now  to  be  found  in  many  cities. 
They  work  under  various  names,  such  as  "Eugenical  Associa- 
tion," "Better  Babies  League,"  or  ''Mothers'  and  Babies' 
Clinic." 

The  Portland  organization  thus  states  its  objects  and 
purposes : 

To  bring  to  young  wives  and  husbands,  (1)  a  knowledge  of  prenatal 
influences;  (2)  a  knowledge  of  infant  hygiene;  (3)  literature  and  private 
consultation  in  regard  to  babies,  adolescence,  sex  hygiene,  and  the  training 
of  children.  To  show  (1)  by  eugenic  tests,  correct  standard  measurements 
for  babies,  and  to  suggest  such  treatment  as  will  correct  any  defects 
shown  by  the  tests;  (2)  to  demonstrate  by  lectures  the  proper  care  of 
the  babe,  including  matters  of  food  and  clothing.  In  short,  to  be  a  clearing 
house  of  information  for  parents  on  better  babies,  eugenics,  sex  hygiene, 
food  for  infants,  and  proper  home  care  and  guidance  of  children. 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  95 

The  office  of  the  bureau  in  the  County  Court  House  is  open 
every  day  except  Sunday.  Regular  clinics  are  held  each  week, 
sometimes  twice  a  week,  if  the  calls  for  service  are  pressing, 
and  Portland  physicians  who  are  specialists  donate  their  time 
and  services  for  the  work  of  examination,  and  medical  advice 
to  the  mothers.  There  are  80  Portland  physicians  who  assist 
in  the  work.  Over  2,000  babies  were  measured,  weighed, 
tested,  and  given  a  full  examination  within  the  past  year.  Since 
the  beginning  of  the  work  in  April,  1913,  there  have  been 
examined  a  total  of  8,612  babies.  This  was  the  record  August 
15,  1918.  During  this  time  only  30  babies  scored  absolutely 
perfect;  but  about  three-fourths  of  those  examined  scored 
above  90  on  a  scale  of  100.  Funds  to  hire  visitors  for  "follow 
up  work"  is  one  pressing  necessity. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  good  done  is  by  the  expert  advice 
given  by  the  physicians  and  the  experienced  attendant  to 
young  and  inexperienced  mothers.  A  small  library  on  subjects 
connected  with  infants  and  their  care  is  kept  at  the  bureau, 
and  is  loaned  out  to  expectant  mothers  and  parents.  Litera- 
ture is  supplied  on  all  lines  of  child  welfare.  Each  year  a  special 
test  day  is  set  aside  for  the  children  of  mothers  who  receive 
widows'  pensions. 

The  Portland  organization  has  not  confined  its  work  to  its 
own  city.  Many  mothers  from  other  parts  of  the  State  have 
been  aided  by  the  tests  and  the  free  advice.  A  number  of 
branches,  or  similar  organizations  on  a  smaller  scale,  have  been 
established  in  other  cities  of  Oregon.  Tests  were  given  in  26 
towns  outside  of  Portland  within  a  year.  The  officers  of  the 
Parents'  Educational  Bureau  of  the  Oregon  Congress  of 
Mothers  ask  the  moral  and  financial  support  of  the  people  of 
the  State,  and  invite  visits  and  correspondence  in  reference  to 
work  that  can  not  be  done  in  their  office  at  the  County  Court 
House.  It  is  a  good  work,  including  many  preventive  and 
remedial  elements,  and  should  have  the  hearty  cooperation  of 
all  who  have  interest  in  the  babies  of  today  and  tomorrow. 

Assistance  for  Dependent  Mothers.  In  institutions  for 
dependents  and  delinquents  the  statement  is  often  heard: 
**Three-fourths  of  our  inmates  come  from  broken  homes." 
Whatever  helps  a  good  mother  to  maintain  her  home,  and  per- 


96  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

sonally  care  for  and  train  her  brood  of  little  ones,  is  a  pre- 
ventive measure  of  positive  character.  Of  this  type  are  the 
Mothers'  Pension  Bureaus,  or  Mothers'  Assistance  Depart- 
ments, now  established  in  many  states.  Oregon  in  1913  enacted 
a  Mothers'  Pension  law,  intended  to  prevent  the  breaking  up 
of  homes,  and  to  promote  the  care  of  children  by  their  own 
mothers.  It  was  operated  as  a  department  of  the  Juvenile 
Court.  Oregon  was  the  first  State  in  the  Union  to  pass  such 
a  law  under  the  auspices  of  the  Congress  of  Mothers,  and  it 
was  enacted  less  than  two  years  after  the  request  from  the 
International  Convention  of  this  body  was  made  to  all  of  the 
states. 

After  four  years  of  experience  the  original  law  was  found 
deficient  in  protective  clauses,  and  allowed  some  to  obtain  aid 
who  were  not  properly  entitled  to  it.  A  revised  and  strength- 
ened form  of  the  law  was  passed  by  the  Twenty-ninth  Legis- 
lative Assembly  in  1917,  the  first  section  of  which  reads  as 
follows : 

The  Juvenile  or  County  Court  of  each  County  of  the  State  of  Oregon 
shall  give  assistance  to  any  mother  who  has  a  child  or  children  under  the 
age  of  16  years  and  who  are  wholly  dependent  upon  her  for  support  and 
whose  husband,  the  father  of  said  child  or  children,  is  either  dead  or  is 
an  inmate  of  some  Oregon  State  institution,  or  who  by  reason  of  physical 
incapacity  or  mental  disease  is  wholly  unable  to  work  in  any  manner  in 
supporting  his  family,  and  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Oregon  and  of 
the  United  States,  a  sum  not  to  exceed  ten  dollars  ($10.00)  a  month  for 
one  child  and  if  she  has  more  than  one  child  residing  with  her,  seven  and 
50-100  dollars   ($7.50)  per  month  for  each  of  said  children. 

The  total  amount  given  to  any  one  family  shall  be  discretionary  with 
the  court  but  shall  not  in  any  one  case  exceed  forty  dollars  ($40.00)  per 
month;  provided  such  mother  had  a  previous  residence  of  three  years  in 
the  State  of  Oregon  and  one  year  in  the  County  immediately  preceding 
the  date  of  filing  of  the  application  for  assistance,  and  is  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.* 

Portland  contains  fully  one-third  of  the  population  of  Ore- 
gon, and  this  one  administration  includes  about  that  share 
of  the  "Mothers'  Aid"  given  in  the  entire  State.  The  judge  of 
the  Multnomah  County  Juvenile  Court  presides  over  this 
department,  and  he  appoints  a  director  of  * 'Mothers'  Aid"  and 
an  assistant  who  are  in  charge  of  the  administrative  duties  at 
the  offices  in  the  County  Court  House.  The  work  in  other 
counties  while  less  important  individually  in  the  aggregate  is 
large  and  important. 

During  the  year  1917  Multnomah  County  aided  210  mothers 


•  General  Laws  of  Oregon,  1917,  Chapter  267,  Section  1. 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  97 

each  month,  whose  families  aggregated  400  children,  and 
whose  assistance  totaled  the  sum  of  $44,983.  The  amounts 
for  1918  are  less  than  in  previous  years. 

The  other  counties  of  the  State  aided  a  total  of  575  mothers, 
the  families  aggregating  1,587  children,  to  whom  the  counties 
allowed  a  total  of  $90,585. 

This  gives  as  totals  for  the  ''Mothers*  Aid"  in  Oregon  in 
1917  these  amounts:  Mothers  aided,  775;  aggregate  of  children 
in  their  families,  1,987;  total  funds  disbursed,  $135,568. 

In  its  1918  report  the  Portland  Department  of  Mothers'  Aid 
has  this  suggestive  quotation:  'The  mother's  pension  is  for 
the  benefit  of  the  children  and  the  State  and  not  the  mother. 
It  is  an  allowance  given  until  the  child  is  16  on  condition  that 
the  mother  keeps  the  home  together.  In  other  words,  the 
State  places  to  the  credit  of  the  mother  herself  and  allows  her 
to  use  a  part  of  the  money  that  heretofore  has  been  expended 
in  almshouses,  reform  schools,  orphan  asylums  and  prisons." 

Child  Labor  Bureau.  Child  labor  restrictions  and  compul- 
sory attendance  at  school  are  wisely  and  inseparably  connected 
under  the  laws  of  Oregon.  The  interests  of  both  parents  and 
children  are  protected  by  excellent  statutes  and  their  careful 
administration.  To  make  clear  the  description  of  the  situation 
and  the  recommendations,  the  substance  of  a  few  most  essential 
sections  of  the  child  labor  law  is  here  presented. 

General  wage  work  for  young  children  is  prohibited : 

No  child  under  14  years  of  age  shall  be  employed,  permitted,  or  suffered 
to  work  in,  or  in  connection  with,  any  factory,  workshop,  mercantile 
establishment,  store,  business  office,  restaurant,  bakery,  hotel  or  apart- 
men  house.  No  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen  shall  be  employed,  permitted, 
or  suffered  to  work  in  the  telegraph,  telephone,  or  public  messenger 
service. 

No  child  under  the  age  of  14  years  shall  be  employed  in  any  work,  or 
labor  in  any  form,  for  wages  or  other  compensation  to  whomsoever  payable, 
during  the  term  when  the  public  schools  of  the  town,  district,  or  city  in 
which  he  or  she  resides  are  in  session. 

Attendance  at  school  is  compulsory  upon  all  children  between 
the  ages  of  nine  and  15  years,  and  upon  all  children  between  the 
ages  of  14  and  16  years  "who  are  not  engaged  in  some  lawful 
work."  Lawful  work  is  employment  which  they  are  allowed  to 
do  under  proper  certificates.  Such  children  shall  not  be 
employed  longer  than  eight  hours  in  any  one  day,  nor  more 
than  six  days  in  any  one  week;  and  each  working  child  must 


98  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

have  an  "age  and  schooling  certificate'*  to  be  kept  by  the 
employer  "on  file  and  accessible  to  the  school  authorities  of 
the  district." 

Then  comes  the  "hook  on  the  chain,"  attaching  the  schools 
to  the  labor  department  of  the  State.  That  "age  and  schooling 
certificate  shall  be  executed,  issued  and  approved  only  by  the 
secretary  of  the  Board  of  Inspection  of  Child  Labor,  or  by  a 
person  authorized  by  him  or  her."  All  of  the  above  brief 
quotations  are  taken  from  Lord's  Oregon  Laws,  Sections 
5023-5030. 

The  Child  Labor  Bureau  at  Portland  for  many  years  has 
been  conducted  by  Mrs.  Millie  R.  Trumbull.  By  special  request 
she  has  prepared  the  following  digest  of  the  present  situation 
for  this  report : 

The  child  in  industry  in  Oregon  is  protected  by  one  of  the  best  child 
labor  laws  in  the  United  States.  The  present  standards  are  secured 
partly  through  Legislative  enactments,  and  partly  by  the  rulings  of  the 
Industrial  Welfare  Commission.  Oregon  is  fortunate  that  her  child 
labor  law  was  obtained  before  her  industrial  development  had  become  a 
pronounced  factor.  Portland  is  the  chief  industrial  center,  and  it  is  here 
that  we  find  the  greatest  danger  of  the  exploitation  of  children,  and  the 
most  active  enforcement  of  the  law. 

The  enforcement  of  the  law  is  by  an  independent  State  bureau,  which 
seems  to  be  a  great  advantage  over  systems  in  other  states  where  the 
working  permit  is  signed  by  authorities  of  other  functions,  the  school, 
the  Health  Board,  or  the  Juvenile  Court.  It  seems  preeminently  proper 
that  the  labor  department  of  the  State  should  control  the  conditions  under 
which  the  child  enters  the  labor  market.  None  of  the  departments  men- 
tioned— the  schools,  the  Health  Board,  and  the  Juvenile  Court — ^has  a  first- 
hand knowledge  of  industrial  conditions,  and  all  lack  authority  to  enter 
factories  and  enforce  labor  provisions. 

The  canneries  of  Oregon  have  not  as  yet  levied  the  fearful  toll  upon 
child  life  that  we  learn  is  taken  in  the  great  canneries  of  the  east  and 
south;  and  the  Oregon  laws  will  prevent  this  exploitation  if  the  present 
standards  are  maintained.  In  the  smaller  towns  of  the  State,  the  chief 
industries  calling  for  child  labor  are  the  fish,  fruit  and  vegetable  canneries 
and  the  condensed  milk  factories.  In  these  smaller  centers  we  find  a  signifi- 
cant situation.  The  school  superintendents  almost  without  exception  prefer 
to  have  no  direct  connection  with  the  enforcement  of  the  child  labor  law, 
and  a  very  good  argument  is  used.  The  superintendent  is  the  appointee 
of  the  school  board,  which  in  most  cases  is  composed  of  the  labor  employers 
of  the  district;  and  the  educator  states  truthfully  that  an  extremely 
awkward  situation  would  develop  were  he  to  have  a  hand  in  arresting  a 
member  of  his  own  board  for  violation  of  the  child  labor  law.  The  inde- 
pendent bureau  of  the  labor  department  gives  a  method  of  caring  for  the 
rights  of  children  without  creating  this  official  dilemma. 

I  would  urge  a  strict  and  close  cooperation  between  school  and  child 
labor  authorities  everywhere,  as  contemplated  by  the  laws,  in  maintaining 
the  standards  so  splendidly  encouraged  by  our  President.  Not  all  Oregon 
teachers  are  in  as  close  sympathy  with  the  purpose  of  the  child  labor  law 
as  is  desirable.  Some  have  no  accurate  knowledge  of  its  requirements, 
especially  in  reference  to  cooperation  of  the  schools  with  the  labor  bureau. 
Only  good  can  come  to  all  concerned  from  cordial  relations  and  the  utmost 
of  systematic  cooperation. 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  99 

With  the  war  and  its  activities  have  come  a  positive  menace  to  the 
child  in  industrial  matters.  The  universally  high  wages  are  robbing  the 
schools  of  their  pupils,  the  children  of  their  childhood,  and  the  parents  of 
the  chance  to  give  their  children  an  education  and  an  opportunity  for 
youth's  normal  development. 

At  Portland  the  number  of  labor  permits  has  been  almost  quadrupled. 
Pressure  to  set  aside  the  protective  restrictions  of  the  law  has  been 
unusually  severe.  The  whole  situation  has  been  greatly  intensified  in 
all  of  its  most  dangerous  aspects.  Children  and  their  parents  are  coining 
youthful  life-blood  into  dollars  under  the  name  of  patriotism.  Boys  who 
are  earning  large  wages  while  in  the  early  teens  are  developing  habits  of 
extravagance  that  will  require  great  effort  and  years  of  training  to 
change,  if  it  is  ever  accomplished.  It  now  seems  to  be  next  to  impossible 
to  make  any  impression  on  them  or  their  parents,  with  big  wages  in  sight. 

As  to  the  law  itself,  I  recommend  that  several  changes  be  made: 

1.  A  more  elaborate  classification  of  industries,  especially  of  those  of 
more  or  less  dangerous  character. 

2.  The  raising  of  the  educational  standard  from  the  sixth  to  the 
seventh  grade,  for  those  who  have  not  completed  the  grammar  grades 
at  15  years  of  age. 

3.  A  section  should  be  added  to  the  law  governing  the  street  trades. 
The  newsboy  is  at  present  without  a  control  worth  mentioning. 

4.  An  increased  office  force  should  be  provided  in  the  Portland  Child 
Labor  Bureau,  as  at  present  the  work  is  most  inadequately  financed  by 
the  State,  and  the  work  is  increasing  all  the  time. 

The  large  space  given  to  this  department  is  amply  warranted 
by  the  great  importance  of  the  subject.  That  delinquency 
should  increase  under  present  conditions,  should  occasion  no 
surprise ;  and  but  for  the  Child  Labor  Bureau  it  would  increase 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  It  is  essential  that  the  only  labor  reserve 
the  nation  possesses — the  children — should  be  adequately  and 
carefully  guarded,  if  we  expect  to  maintain  the  industrial  and 
commercial  supremacy  that  is  ours  today.  The  writer  most 
cordially  commends  the  above  resume  of  the  Oregon  child  labor 
situation,  and  the  recommendations  at  its  close. 

Catholic  Children's  Bureau.  One  very  recent  development 
is  a  Catholic  Children's  Bureau,  established  by  Archibishop 
Christie  in  May,  1917.  This  bureau  has  offices  in  Portland, 
and  does  both  preventive  and  remedial  work  for  children  con- 
nected with  21  Roman  Catholic  parishes,  and  all  of  the  Catholic 
child-caring  institutions.  An  outline  of  the  objects  of  the 
bureau,  presented  through  the  kindness  of  its  field  secretary, 
Miss  Emma  L.  Butler,  will  sufficiently  present  this  new  but 
very  significant  social  organization: 

1.  To  look  after  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  dependent  and  delinquent 
children  of  the  city  reported  by  the  several  parish  Priests  and  other 
interested  persons. 

2.  To  arrange,  when  necessary,  for  admission  of  dependent  and  delin- 
quent children  to  the  several  Catholic  institutions;  also  arranging  for 
mental  and  physical  examinations  of  these  children  before  admission. 


100  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

3.  To  appear  in  the  Juvenile  Court  in  the  interest  of  Catholic  children; 
supervising  such  of  these  children  as  are  placed  on  probation  to  the  field 
secretary  by  the  judge  of  the  Court. 

4.  Obtaining  employment  and  boarding  homes  for  such  children  as 
have  completed  the  course  and  reached  the  limit  of  stay  in  the  several 
Catholic  institutions. 

5.  Securing  employment  and  boarding  homes  for  young  girls  coming 
to  Portland  from  other  towns  and  cities  of  Oregon. 

6.  Doing  the  "follow  up  work"  required  by  the  several  Catholic  child- 
caring  institutions. 

7.  Finding  private  homes  for  Catholic  children,  who  are  dependent  and 
homeless,  and  supervising  them  while  in  these  homes. 

8.  Cooperating  with  all  agencies  and  institutions  for  child  welfare 
wherein  Catholic  children's  interests  are  concerned. 

Medical  Inspection  of  Schools.  No  one  modern  method  of 
prevention  exceeds  in  usefulness  medical  inspection  of  schools, 
with  its  corollary  school  nurse  service.  The  work  started  only 
a  score  of  years  ago,  but  it  is  now  operative  to  some  extent  in 
over  700  American  cities  and  towns.  For  effective  service 
there  must  be  a  sufficient  number  of  physicians  and  speciaUsts 
employed,  and  a  school  nurse  to  every  3,000  to  4,000  children 
listed  for  the  schools. 

Portland  is  doing  some  of  this  work,  under  the  control  and 
management  of  the  city  Board  of  Health.  The  cities  of 
Astoria,  Corvallis,  Eugene,  Medford,  Salem,  and  one  or  two 
more  have  a  very  limited  form  of  inspection.  A  few  other  cities 
are  trying  to  secure  it.  Coos  and  Jackson  counties  have  a  begin- 
ning of  inspection  for  all  of  their  schools.  The  rest  of  the  State 
seems  quiescent  on  these  matters,  and  there  is  no  State  law,  or 
funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
or  other  State  officer  for  pushing  or  establishing  such  work. 
This  information  was  given  by  the  State  Board  of  Health. 

It  appears  that  Portland  has  at  present  the  services  of  four 
physicians  from  9  a.  m.  till  noon  each  school  day;  and  one 
school  nurse,  whose  many  duties  are  centered  in  the  Board  of 
Health  rooms  so  fully  that  as  a  visiting  nurse  she  has  but  part 
time  for  family  work.  One  always  wants  to  give  as  large  credit 
for  advanced  movements  as  possible.  Portland  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated that  a  start  has  been  made  on  this  most  urgent  and 
promising  preventive  service.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
present  forces  will  not  be  counted  adequate,  and  that  larger 
appropriations  will  permit  of  enlarged  service  year  by  year. 

There  are  several  things  that  should  be  considered  in  this 
service : 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  101 

1.  Efficient  child  care  and  conservation  is  a  war  measure  of  the 
most  important  kind.  Medical  inspection,  school  nurse  visiting,  the  work 
of  specialists  in  removing  adenoids  and  enlarged  tonsils,  caring  lor 
decayed  teeth,  fitting  glasses  to  poor  eyes,  curing  skin  diseases,  recom- 
mending and  making  possible  orthopedic  surgery,  and  guarding  the  schools 
and  the  community  from  epidemics  of  contagious  diseases — these  are 
inestimable  means  for  the  conservation  of  child  life,  and  should  have  the 
universal  support  of  all  the  people. 

2.  School  physicians  should  be  very  carefully  selected.  Each  staff 
should  include  several  regular  practitioners,  and  specialists  on  several 
lines.  There  should  be  an  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat  specialist;  a  competent 
dentist,  or  in  all  probability  several;  a  dermatologist,  or  specialist  in  skin 
troubles;  an  orthopedic  surgeon;  and  either  on  this  staff  or  allied  to  it  a 
well-equipped  psychologist.  For  a  city  the  size  of  Portland  there  should 
be  at  least  five  physicians  on  full  time,  in  addition  to  specialists  on 
occasional  service;  and  at  least  ten  first  class  school  nurses. 

3.  The  school  nurses  should  all  have  in  addition  to  nurse  training  and 
experience,  training  or  experience  as  social  workers.  It  may  seem  strange 
to  some  that  this  feature  of  work  is  so  often  mentioned,  but  it  would  not  be 
urged  except  for  definite  convictions  of  its  need.  Nurses  who  have  had 
only  a  limited  experience  in  actual  case  work,  get  tired  of  night  and  irregu- 
lar service,  and  apply  for  places  in  connection  with  the  schools,  where  they 
work  only  day  time,  and  with  small  responsibilities.  To  take  such  simply 
because  they  are  available  and  demand  the  places,  too  often  puts  "pot 
boilers"  where  devotion  is  at  a  premium.  School  nurses  who  have  had 
social  service  experience  are  worth  twice  the  salaries  paid  to  the  class 
just  named. 

Psychological  Examinations.  To  compare  it  with  studies 
that  are  more  familiar,  psychology  is  the  ^'anatomy,  physiology 
and  hygiene"  of  the  mind  or  soul.  It  is  an  immense  and  in 
many  ways  an  abstract  subject,  but  has  numerous  concrete 
and  practical  divisions.  Among  these  are  some  that  directly 
apply  to  the  measurements  and  estimates  concerned  in  the 
diagnosis  or  relative  mental  age  and  the  health  and  disease  of 
the  human  brain.  In  order  to  determine  whether  or  not  a 
child  is  mentally  normal,  one  must  be  something  of  a  psycholo- 
gist; and  in  the  scores  and  even  hundreds  of  doubtful  cases 
that  come  to  the  average  school  teacher,  or  to  the  agency  or 
institution  officer,  there  is  constant  and  important  work  for 
the  expert  student  of  this  science.  Clear  knowledge  of  the  ele- 
ments of  modern  methods  of  classifying  erratics  or  mental 
defectives,  is  of  great  value  to  all  teachers  and  child  welfare 
workers ;  but  a  smattering  of  knowledge  can  not  in  these  days 
be  a  substitute  for  the  employment  of  psychological  specialists. 

The  time  has  come  when  psychological  examinations,  or 
"mental  tests,"  for  children  of  all  classes  are  as  positively 
required  as  physical  examinations  for  bodily  defects  or  for 
assurance  of  normal  conditions.  The  last  decade  has  seen  a 
great  advance  in  the  study  of  all  sorts  of  emotional,  erratic, 


102  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

abnormal,  and  especially  mentally  deficient  children.  The 
clinical  psychologists,  that  is,  well-advanced  students  of  men- 
tality and  personality,  who  are  making  a  specialty  of  children's 
work,  are  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers  and  availability.  Some 
such  are  now  training  at  the  State  University  of  Oregon. 
There  is  no  longer  an  excuse  for  mistakes  that  ignorance  exten- 
uated in  the  past ;  nor  for  blind  guessing  at  the  mental  status 
of  doubtful  children,  either  in  school  grades  or  in  agency  and 
institutional  work  for  depressed  and  dependent  classes. 

Every  city  should  employ  a  competent  psychologist  for  the 
examination  of  the  children  of  its  public  schools ;  every  Juven- 
ile Court  should  have  access  to  an  expert  psychologist,  for  the 
examination  of  cases  that  come  before  it;  every  State  should 
have  a  psychological  department  in  connection  with  its  child- 
caring  institutions. 

The  school  psychologists  will  be  able  to  decide  many  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  the  possible  advancement  of  pupils,  and 
especially  in  regard  to  such  as  should  have  the  intensive 
methods  of  schools  for  the  backward,  in  which  as  they  continue 
their  examinations  it  will  be  possible  to  distinguish  the  con- 
stitutionally feeble-minded,  who  are  forever  barred  from  much 
progress,  from  the  mere  dullards,  who  are  children  normal  in 
mind  but  delayed  in  development  by  sickness,  lack  of  nutritious 
food,  or  other  causes. 

The  court  psychologists  will  be  able  to  differentiate  between 
the  mental  defectives  and  the  normal  minded,  divide  the  erratic 
and  abnormal  from  those  more  amenable  to  discipline;  and 
will  enable  the  judge  to  properly  commit  or  assign  the  children 
to  appropriate  homes  or  institutions. 

The  State  psychologists  will  be  able  to  assort  all  inmates 
of  State  institutions,  children  and  adults,  on  the  basis  of  mental 
ability  and  personal  responsibility,  so  that  they  ultimately  may 
be  located  where  they  can  be  most  humanely  cared  for,  and, 
if  restoration  is  possible  and  advisable,  soonest  be  restored  to 
their  places  in  society.  The  State  of  Ohio  has  established  such 
a  department,  and  has  called  to  take  charge  of  it  one  of  the 
foremost  authorities  on  psychology  and  the  care  of  the  feeble- 
minded in  the  United  States.  The  writer  very  earnestly 
recommends  the  employment  of  a  competent  psychologist  by 
the  State  of  Oregon. 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  103 

For  the  city  of  Portland,  as  a  beginning  in  this  matter,  it  is 
suggested  that  one  capable  and  well-equipped  psychologist  be 
employed,  to  serve  three  closely  related  organizations,  all  center- 
ing in  the  County  Court  House — the  public  schools,  the  Child 
Labor  Bureau,  and  the  Juvenile  Court.  School  and  labor  cases 
constantly  overlap,  and  the  subjects  of  Juvenile  Court  action 
are  often  the  very  persons  who  have  been  under  examination  in 
school  or  labor  matters. 

The  State  University  of  Oregon  has  in  its  faculty  a  number 
of  psychologists,  who  are  greatly  interested  in  these  matters 
of  juvenile  welfare.  For  years  they  have  been  doing  free 
work  in  juvenile  courts,  public  schools,  and  especially  in  private 
and  public  institutions  for  dependents,  delinquents  and  defec- 
tives, giving  mental  tests  and  other  valuable  service.  No 
doubt  they  will  continue  their  interest  and  will  be  available 
for  some  service  along  these  lines.  All  schools,  agencies  and 
institutions  are  urged  to  consult  with  them  in  regard  to  such 
matters,  and  to  secure  their  help  so  far  as  they  are  able  to  give 
it.  But  experts  on  this  line  should  be  regularly  employed,  and 
Oregon  should  have  a  proper  number  of  them  for  service  among 
the  school  children  and  others.  Charlatans  are  numerous ;  they 
have  invaded  this  field ;  only  qualified  psychologists  should  be 
considered  eligible  anywhere. 

The  Juvenile  Courts.  The  administrative  function  of  the 
Juvenile  Court  in  the  main  is  preventive  and  protective.  These 
features  are  especially  prominent  in  all  arrangements  and 
provisions  for  dependent  children.  They  also  appear  in  the 
cases  adjusted  by  simple  reproof,  or  by  placing  the  persons 
involved  under  the  watch-care  of  probation  officers ;  and  such 
cases  are  many  times  more  numerous  than  those  that  call  for 
commitment  to  institutions.  To  be  a  ''Juvenile  Judge"  is  to 
hold  an  exalted  station.  Some  of  the  finest  judges  of  the 
highest  tribunals  have  thought  it  no  derogation  of  their  office 
to  serve  as  judges  of  juvenile  courts. 

In  the  early  days  of  their  history,  the  juvenile  courts  of 
Oregon  were  sections  of  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  State.  By 
some  shift  of  sentiment  they  were  changed  to  a  lower  juris- 
diction. In  1915  their  relation  and  jurisdiction  were  estab- 
lished as  follows : 


v^ 


104  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

The  County  Courts  of  the  several  counties  in  this  State  shall  have 
original  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  coming  within  the  terms  of  this  act. 

Juvenile  Court.  All  cases  coming  under  the  provisions  of  this  act 
shall  be  heard  at  a  special  session  of  the  court  designated  to  hear  the 
same.  *  *  *  The  finding  of  the  court  will  be  entered  in  a  book,  or 
books,  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose  and  known  as  the  Juvenile  Record, 
and  the  court  may  for  convenience  be  called  the  Juvenile  Court.  *  *  * 
The  court  may,  for  convenience,  have  its  findings  entered  upon  a  card 
kept  for  the  purpose,  which  card  shall  be  filed  among  the  juvenile  records, 
and  the  court  may  cause  said  card,  together  with  all  records  pertaining 
to  said  child  to  be  destroyed  or  withdrawn  from  the  record.* 

This  placing  of  the  jurisdiction  with  the  County  Courts  is 
thought  by  many  of  the  best  citizens  of  Oregon  to  be  a  great 
mistake.  Only  a  small  fraction  of  the  County  Judges  are 
lawyers ;  most  of  them  being  in  other  professions  or  in  busi- 
ness, and  having  very  little  knowledge  of  judicial  proceedings. 
In  many  of  the  present  juvenile  courts  of  the  State  there  is  a 
very  limited  conception  of  the  purposes  or  ideals  upon  which 
the  work  was  originally  founded,  and  on  which  in  many  of  the 
most  progressive  commonwealths  it  is  being  conducted.  It 
would  be  a  real  return  to  progressive  action  to  restore  the 
juvenile  courts  of  Oregon  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Circuit 
Courts. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  Juvenile  Court  records  should 
not  be  destroyed.  Cases  are  adjudicated  where  family  rela- 
tions are  established,  where  personal  characters  are  cleared 
or  guilt  is  shown,  or  where  the  right  to  inherit  from  estates  in 
future  years  may  depend  on  a  court  record  identifying  a  per- 
son, who  at  the  time  may  have  been  a  dependent,  and  many 
other  conditions  of  social  and  civic  importance.  It  is  believed 
that  all  of  these  court  records  should  be  preserved,  and  that  by 
statute  they  should  not  be  public  documents,  but  be  filed  in 
the  county  archives,  to  be  shown  or  made  public  only  by 
judicial  order. 

The  Multnomah  County  Court  has  established  a  home- 
placing  department.  Its  work  was  described  in  an  earlier  sec- 
tion. But  what  is  done  in  this  court  in  a  formal  way,  is  done 
informally  on  a  smaller  scale  by  most  of  the  juvenile  courts  of 
the  State,  and  by  even  less  approvable  methods.  The  whole 
subject  of  child-placing  in  families  by  juvenile  courts  should  be 
definitely  considered. 

Juvenile  Court  laws  throughout  the  country  usually  confer 


General  Laws  of  Oregon,   1915,  Chapter  147,  Sections  1  and  2. 


PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  AND  AGENCIES  105 

placing-out  powers  on  the  Juvenile  Court,  but  most  juvenile 
courts  have  wisely  refrained  from  exercising  that  power.  It 
is  quite  generally  believed  that  juvenile  courts  can  obtain  better 
results  in  child-placing  work  by  cooperating  with  well-estab- 
lished private  placing-out  agencies,  or,  by  the  form.ation  of  a 
regular  and  permanent  public  agency  distinct  from  the  court. 

Most  juvenile  courts  are  already  overloaded  with  work, 
and  have  more  than  the  judge  and  his  probation  officers  can 
properly  accomplish.  To  take  on  also  the  function  of  child- 
placing  means  usually  that  the  work  must  be  done  hastily 
and  imperfectly;  often  by  officers  unqualified  or  at  least 
inexperienced  in  this  branch  of  social  service.  The  ordinary 
probation  officer  is  untrained  in  these  matters;  and  lacks 
both  technical  knowledge  and  social  vision.  This  work  of  child- 
placing  is  too  technical  and  too  important  to  be  rashly  instrusted 
to  any  but  the  highest  type  of  social  workers. 

To  put  plainly  the  convictions  of  many  prominent  child 
welfare  workers  we  must  say :  When  a  Juvenile  Court  becomes 
its  own  placing-out  agency  it  unwisely  mixes  judicial  with 
administrative  functions,  and  substitutes  a  temporary  arrange- 
ment within  its  own  office  for  the  work  of  a  permanently  estab- 
lished organization.  Owing  to  ordinary  party  affiliations,  it 
opens  the  way  for  political  pull  to  endanger  the  quality  of  the 
work  done.  In  placements  for  adoption  and  permanent  care 
the  court  agency  is  likely  to  locate  children  in  too  close  con- 
tiguity to  unworthy  parents,  other  interfering  relatives,  or 
former  friends  of  the  family.  Or  if  placements  are  made  at  a 
distance,  nine  times  in  ten  the  visiting  force  will  be  too  small  or 
too  ignorant  of  social  necessities  to  give  the  placed-out  child 
and  the  home  proper  supervision;  the  result  being  abused 
children,  exploited  boys  and  girls  old  enough  to  work,  and 
infants  carelessly  located  in  unfit  homes  for  life.  Adequate 
and  continuous  supervisional  service  through  a  term  of  years, 
a  matter  absolutely  essential  to  success  in  child-placing,  can 
not  be  given  by  probation  officers  of  juvenile  courts  where 
each  appointee  is  usually  the  recipient  of  his  or  her  place  as  a 
reward  for  political  activity,  and  at  longest  can  expect  to  hold 
a  position  only  for  a  year  or  two. 

Juvenile  courts  and  their  probation  officers,  being  political 
appointees  who  must  serve  their  constituencies  to  make  good 


106  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

their  promises,  and  who  must  arrange  their  methods  and  work 
to  hold  influence  and  retain  popularity,  find  it  difficult  to 
do  child-placing  work  in  an  impartial  and  unpredjudiced  way, 
to  conserve  the  interests  of  all  concerned.  Practically  all  of 
these  objections  are  met  when  the  court  declines  to  constitute 
itself  a  placing-out  organization,  and  assigns  all  children  need- 
ing such  care  to  well-organized,  permanently  established,  and 
State  approved  agencies  not  directly  connected  with  the  court. 

Multnomah  County,  and  in  a  measure  all  of  Oregon,  is 
already  provided  with  approved  child-placing  agencies  in  the 
Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  and  the  Catholic  Children's  Bureau. 
With  additional  funds  for  support,  and  a  larger  force  of  trained 
workers,  these  two  organizations  can  care  for  all  of  this  work 
properly  and  in  accordance  with  the  best  modern  methods.  It 
is  believed  that  if  intrusted  with  this  work,  these  organizations 
will  render  high-class  and  satisfactory  service.  Under  ade- 
quate State  supervision  this  can  be  assured  for  the  future 
without  any  reason  for  fear  or  doubt  of  ultimate  results. 

For  all  of  its  work  every  Juvenile  Court  should  seek  high- 
class  probation  officers,  and  should  demand  that  they  have 
previous  social  training  or  experience  before  acceptance  as 
agents  of  the  people  in  this  responsible  relation.  The  stan- 
dards have  been  too  low ;  put  them  up  where  they  belong.  Good 
women  and  good  men,  even  if  they  have  served  the  party,  are 
not  necessarily  suited  to  such  work.  Let  judges  rise  above 
partisanship,  and  appoint  on  the  basis  of  merit  and  fitness 
alone. 

Other  Organizations.  Many  other  organizations  are  doing 
effective  preventive  work.  Charity  organization  societies, 
humane  societies,  day  nurseries,  special  kindergartens,  set- 
tlement centers  and  Big  Brother  work,  are  types  of  these 
useful  preventive  agencies.  They  should  have  good  manage- 
ment, liberal  support,  and  high-class  workers  to  carry  on  their 
activities.  All  child  welfare  work  whether  preventive  or 
remedial,  should  have  a  larger  place  in  the  minds  of  the  citizens 
of  the  State,  and  those  who  are  actively  engaged  in  it  should 
find  sympathy  and  cooperation  everywhere. 


IX 
STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE 

TWO  acts  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Legislative  Assembly  were 
culminating  actions  resulting  from  a  large  amount 
of  popular  controversy  over  the  care  of  dependent  and  ^ 
delinquent  children  in  denominational  institutions.  Citizens 
connected  with  other  religious  bodies  objected  to  the  expen- 
diture of  public  funds  for  the  support  of  children  of  these 
classes  in  Catholic  institutions;  while  Catholic  citizens  as 
strenuously  defended  their  claims  to  public  funds  under  the 
provisions  of  the  law  of  the  State,  and  denied  any  special 
propaganda  to  win  these  non-Catholic  children.  To  settle  the 
controversy  the  Legislature  decided  to  make  no  more  appro- 
priations of  public  funds  to  private  institutions ;  and  to  provide 
for  a  large  number  of  children  who  presumably  would  be 
turned  out  of  the  private  institutions  when  the  new  law  went 
into  effect,  proposed  to  erect  a  State  institution  into  which 
they  might  be  received. 

The  writer  and  the  Commission  have  no  desire  or  intention 
to  enter  at  all  into  the  merits  of  this  controversy,  much  less 
to  take  sides  in  this  report  for  one  set  of  citizens  against 
another.  But  it  is  necessary  to  consider  these  two  acts  of  the 
Legislature,  and  their  bearing  upon  types  of  child-caring 
institutions  and  future  child  welfare  work  in  Oregon. 

State  Appropriations  to  Private  Institutions.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  Legislative  Assembly,  1913,  passed  an  act  for  the 
"support  of  homeless,  neglected  and  abused  children,  found- 
lings and  indigent  orphans  under  the  age  of  15  years  now  being 
cared  for  or  who  may  hereafter  be  cared  for  by  benevolent  or 
charitable  institutions  in  this  State." 

The  rates  of  compensation  are  indicated  as  follows :  "State 
aid  at  the  rate  of  eight  dollars  ($8.00)  per  month  for  each  child 
of  any  of  said  classes  over  five  (5)  years  of  age  and  at  the  rate 
of  ten  dollars  ($10.00)  per  month  for  each  child  of  any  of  said 
classes  not  over  five  (5)  years  of  age."* 

Under  this  statute  in  1917  four  Catholic  and  seven  non- 


*  General  Laws  of  Oregon,  1913,  Chapter  300,  Sections  1  and  4, 

107 


108  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

Catholic  child-caring  institutions  received  State  aid,  the  total 
aggregating  $60,943,  which  was  46  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance of  these  institutions.  The  action  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  1917,  entirely  cutting  off  this  partial  State 
support,  is  worded  as  follows: 

It  is  hereby  declared  to  be  the  policy  of  the  State  of  Oregon  that,  after 
December  31,  1918,  no  public  funds  shall  be  appropriated  or  expended  for 
the  care  or  support  of  any  dependent,  delinquent  or  defective  child,  unless 
such  child  is  cared  for  and  supported  by  and  in  an  institution  owned  or 
maintained  wholly  by  the  State.* 

In  regard  to  this  action  several  things  may  be  said,  without 
in  any  way  entering  into  the  controversies  which  led  to  its 
passage. 

1.  Private  institutions  are  such  only  in  name.  They  are 
parts  of  the  social  provision  made  by  the  people  of  the  State 
for  the  unfortunate,  destitute,  or  abnormal;  and  while  man- 
aged by  self-perpetuating  boards,  are  doing  at  least  semi-public 
service.  Whether  their  support  is  wholly  from  the  donations 
of  a  group  of  philanthropic  citizens,  or  in  part  from  public 
funds,  does  not  change  their  character.  They  are  properly 
subject  to  State  supervision  as  they  deal  with  the  State's 
immature  citizens;  and  such  supervision  should  cover  both 
the  right  expenditure  of  money  and  the  right  care  and  training 
of  the  children. 

2.  Nearly  all  of  the  commonwealths  in  the  United  States 
recognize  the  above  relations,  and  appropriate  considerable 
sums  from  public  funds  for  the  entire  or  partial  support  of 
what  are  called  private  institutions.  The  States  of  Illinois, 
Minnesota  and  Massachusetts,  as  a  settled  policy,  appropriate 
no  public  funds  to  the  support  of  private  institutions.  A  few 
State  constitutions  forbid  appropriations  to  sectarian  institu- 
tions. Other  states,  from  time  to  time,  cut  off  such  support, 
either  from  all  or  a  part  of  the  private  institutions  thus  pre- 
viously aided,  but  because  of  real  necessities  that  faced  them, 
receded  from  that  position,  and  restored  the  State  aid,  under 
wise  restrictions  and  a  more  elaborate  system  of  supervision. 

3.  The  writer  neither  advocates  nor  favors  public  appropria- 
tions to  private  institutions,  but  realizes  that  in  some  states 
it  may  be  advisable  or  even  necessary  to  thus  employ  funds 
raised  by  taxation.  The  question  is  not  one  of  right  or  wrong, 
but  of  expediency  and  desirability.     It  is  a  matter  for  the 


•General  Laws  of  Oregon,    1917,   Chapter  339,   Section   1, 


STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE  109 

Legislature  to  study  and  settle.  No  such  appropriations  should 
be  made  in  lump  sums,  or  "subsidies,"  but  if  granted  at  all 
should  be  for  actual  service  rendered  to  children  who  are 
properly  subjects  for  such  expenditure,  on  a  per  capita  basis, 
and  under  adequate  State  supervision.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  Legislative  action  under  review  cutting  off  all  appro- 
priations to  child-caring  agencies  and  institutions,  removes  the 
small  measure  of  State  supervision  previously  given  to  private 
organizations  receiving  State  aid;  and  all  private  child-caring 
work  will  be  absolutely  unsupervised  unless  some  new  form 
of  supervision  is  provided. 

4.  As  an  ideal  it  is  possible  to  obtain  the  entire  support  of 
all  dependent  classes,  including  children,  from  the  results  of  an 
equitable  taxation  of  the  entire  population  of  the  State.  As 
a  matter  of  practice  such  an  ideal  can  not  easily  be  made 
operative.  Even  Oregon  is  not  well  prepared  for  such  advanced 
action.  And  if  the  action  were  ordered,  the  order  could  not  be 
carried  into  effect,  for  lack  of  prepared  systems  of  taxation, 
institutions  for  all  of  the  varied  classes,  and  trained  workers 
to  efficiently  do  the  work.  Private  institutions  and  the  gen- 
erous contributions  of  private  philanthropy  will  be  needed  for 
many  years  to  come. 

5.  There  are  also  large  and  important  benefits  derived  from 
the  stimulation  of  private  philanthropy.  Private  institutions 
are  usually  produced  by  the  generous  gifts  of  one  or  many 
individuals  to  the  welfare  work  of. the  State;  and  their  annual 
contributions  to  maintenance  funds  are  a  continual  testimony 
to  their  warm  sympathy  and  good  will.  The  State  would  lose 
far  more  than  mere  money  if  these  perennial  springs  of  humane 
helpfulness  were  dammed  or  rendered  unnecessary. 

6.  If  this  action  stands  it  probably  will  not  result  in  the 
officers  of  State-aided  institutions  turning  out  of  doors  the 
children  now  in  care.  The  institutions  will  appeal  urgently 
to  their  constituencies  for  help  to  bear  their  larger  financial 
burdens.  This  appeal  may  prove  a  blessing  in  diguise,  and 
reveal  friends  and  resources  more  numerous  and  larger  than 
previously  were  known.  Many  leading  social  experts  believe 
that  all  private  institutions  should  be  entirely  supported  by 
private  funds.  Cutting  off  State  aid  will  probably  stimulate 
private  giving,  and  the  institutions  be  better  off  without  it. 


110  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

7.  It  might  be  well  in  this  connection  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  on  the  average  it  costs  the  State  about  $100  per 
capita  per  year  more  to  care  for  children  in  public  institutions 
than  for  equally  good  care  in  private  institutions.  The  politi- 
cian may  not  be  moved  by  this  economical  argument,  but  it 
will  appeal  to  the  taxpayer.  This  same  fact  appears  in  studies 
in  other  states — public  management  is  less  economical  than 
private.  Many  institutions  ought  to  be  under  public  manage- 
ment, whatever  the  cost;  but  there  also  is  a  field  and  a  work 
for  private  institutions.  Under  proper  and  efficient  State 
supervision  very  few  will  develop  any  characteristics  that 
should  offend  any  sensible  citizen. 

Home  for  State  Wards.  On  the  supposition  that  cutting  off 
State  aid  from  private  institutions  will  make  necessary  addi- 
tional State  provision  for  a  large  number  of  children,  a  bill  was 
passed  in  1917  for  a  new  institution,  which  can  best  be  described 
by  quoting  the  essential  portions  of  the  act  itself : 

Section  1.  The  State  Board  of  Control  is  hereby  authorized  to  proceed 
within  60  days  after  this  act  shall  become  a  law,  to  locate  a  site  for  a  home 
for  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children,  to  be  known  as  the  Home 
for  State  Wards,  at  some  point  within  the  city  of  Portland,  in  Multnomah 
County,  Oregon,  or  within  five  miles  from  the  corporate  limits  of  said  city, 
and  shall  contract  for  and  purchase  in  the  name  of  and  for  the  State  of 
Oregon,  at  the  place  selected  for  said  home,  a  suitable  tract  of  land  for  the 
establishment  of  such  home  and  for  purposes  connected  therewith. 

Section  2.  After  acquiring  title  to  the  real  estate  for  the  use  of  said 
home,  the  said  Board  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  suitably  graded  and  laid 
out  and  shall  cause  to  be  erected  thereon  all  buildings  and  other  structures, 
which  may  be  deemed  necessary  to  the  establishment  and  equipment  of 
a  home  for  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children,  according  to 
modern  advanced  and  practical  methods  for  conducting  such  institutions, 
and  planned  with  the  view  to  the  future  building  of  additions  thereto,  or 
of  other  buildings  or  structures  when  the  same  shall  be  required.     *     *     * 

Section  4.  The  Home  for  State  Wards  shall  be  a  home  for  all  depen- 
dent, delinquent  and  defective  children  of  the  State  who  shall  be  committed 
thereto  by  the  properly  authorized  officers  of  courts  of  the  State. 

Section  5.  For  the  purposes  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
there  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  funds  in  the  State  treasury,  not 
otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  $200,000  or  so  much  thereof  as  ntay 
be  necessary. 

Section  6.  This  act  shall  be  submitted  to  the  legal  voters  of  this  State 
for  their  approval  or  rejection  at  the  next  regular  biennial  election  in 
November,  1918,  in  the  same  manner  as  provided  for  the  submission  of 
proposed  laws  under  the  initiative,  and  shall  become  a  law  at  such  time  if 
approved  by  the  majority  of  the  legal  voters  voting  thereon.* 

There  are  many  and  unanswerable  objections  to  this  bill, 

and  the  people  of  Oregon  should  weigh  them  carefully  before 

election  day  comes.     The  proposition  has  been  put  up  to  the 


*  General  Laws  of  Oregon,  1917,  Chapter  421,  Sections  1,  2,  4,  5,   6. 


STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE  111 

taxpayers  themselves,  by  the  Legislature,  and  they  will  be 
responsible  if  the  bill  becomes  a  law.    Let  us  frankly  face  the_ 
matter  together. 

1.  The  proposition  calls  for  a  single  institution  for  "depen- 
dents, delinquents  and  defectives."  From  the  viewpoint  of 
modern  social  experts,  such  a  combination  is  an  administrative 
monstrosity  and  a  practical  and  economical  impossibility. 

The  three  classes  require  very  different  plants,  equipment, 
care,  treatment,  discipline,  education,  and  staffs  of  workers. 
Nearly  100  years  ago  agitation  started  to  secure  separate  and 
suitable  institutions  and  influences  for  delinquent  boys  and 
girls,  so  that  they  might  be  reformed  rather  than  ruined ;  and 
the  first  institution  of  this  sort  was  established  in  New  York 
in  1825.  A  similar  effort  was  made  about  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  in  behalf  of  the  feeble-minded.  Hundreds 
of  them  were  then  kept  in  orphanages,  poorhouses,  jails,  prisons 
and  insane  asylums,  and  others  were  at  large  in  the  com- 
munities. About  1847  the  State  of  Massachusetts  established 
the  first  American  institution  for  the  separate  care  of  the 
mentally  deficient,  a  method  now  universally  accepted  as 
necessary.  To  establish  in  Oregon  an  institution  for  the  com- 
bined care  of  ''dependents,  delinquents  and  defectives,*'  in  1919, 
is  to  turn  back  the  clock  of  progress  nearly  a  century. 

If  its  advocates  argue  that  it  is  not  intended  to  combine  the 
care  of  the  three  classes  in  the  same  buildings,  it  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  the  bill  provides  for  no  separation.  The  bill 
expressly  calls  it  a  ''Home  for  State  Wards."  It  is  a  single 
institution.  Indeed,  if  separation  were  made  "according  to 
modern  advanced  and  practical  methods,"  there  would  be 
required  not  one  institution  but  three. 

To  erect  such  an  institution  "according  to  modem  advanced 
and  practical  methods  for  conducting  such  institutions,"  is 
economically  impossible.  It  is  now  everywhere  thought  neces- 
sary to  have  large  tracts  of  arable  land  as  sites  for  "Homes" 
for  both  delinquent  and  defective  children,  if  "advanced" 
methods  are  to  be  used.  For  the  proposed  institution  a  suit- 
able site  "within  the  city  of  Portland,  *  *  *  q^.  within 
five  miles  from  the  corporate  limits  of  said  city,"  would  be 
hard  to  find,  and  if  found  would  be  held  at  a  prohibitive  price. 

What  would  be  needed?    Well,  the  institutions  for  delin- 


112  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

quents  and  defectives  now  owned  and  operated  by  the  State, 
contain  about  1,200  acres  of  land.  Should  the  proposed  insti- 
tution for  three  classes  have  less?  Now,  a  tract  of  not  less 
than  1,000  acres  of  land,  of  the  select  sort  required  for  high- 
class  work,  in  the  location  named  would  cost  at  least  $500,000. 
Then  the  Board  of  Control  would  have  to  ''cause  the  same  to 
be  suitably  graded  and  laid  out  and  shall  cause  to  be  erected 
thereon  all  buildings  and  other  structures." 

The  bill  designates  no  definite  capacity,  but  if  erected  at 
all  there  would  be  need  for  accommodations  for  100  to  200  of 
each  class;  a  total  perhaps  of  500  inmates  at  the  very  least. 
Modern  buildings  will  cost  on  the  average  over  $1,000  for 
each  child  for  whom  sleeping  accommodations  are  provided. 
Oregon  faces  then  the  necessity  of  raising  for  the  new  insti- 
tution not  less  than  $500,000  for  buildings  alone.  With  the 
cost  of  site,  not  less  than  an  outlay  of  $1,000,000  is  involved. 
The  initial  appropriation  of  $200,000  is  therefore  only  the  first 
nibble  before  the  bite. 

But  suppose  "modern  advanced  and  practical  methods"  ulti- 
mately prevail,  and  the  three  classes  are  separated  into  as 
many  institutional  groups,  requiring  as  many  sets  of  build- 
ings, increased  acreage  for  sites,  additional  cost  of  plants  and 
equipment,  and  sets  of  officers  and  workers  each  adapted  to 
service  in  its  own  group.  This  would  mean  the  erection  not 
of  one  institution  but  three,  even  if  one  name,  "Home  for 
State  Wards,"  was  retained,  and  a  general  superintendent  put 
in  charge.  And  the  cost  would  be  at  least  50  per  cent  over 
the  above  estimate. 

But  the  whole  project  ignores  the  fact  that  Oregon  now  has 
three  excellent  institutions  for  delinquents  and  defectives 
near  Salem ;  the  two  Training  Schools,  and  the  Institution  for 
Feeble-minded.  Common  sense  and  instinct  for  economy  would 
say  enlarge  these  institutions  to  meet  prospective  needs  rather 
than  erect  a  new  institution  for  the  same  classes.  The  State 
possesses  large  and  valuable  sites  of  arable  land,  administra- 
tion buildings  are  in  use,  systems  of  work  are  established, 
superintendents  and  staffs  of  workers  are  employed;  and  for 
enlargement  the  only  necessity  is  the  erection  of  additional 
"cottage  units"  according  to  the  future  needs  of  the  work. 
For  delinquents  and  defectives  no  new  institution  is  needed. 


STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE  113 

Nor  is  there  need  for  a  new  State  institution  for  dependents. ' 
It  will  be  rationally  and  economically  better  to  make  use  of 
the  institutions  now  existing,  and  in  the  main  doing  creditable ' 
work,  even  if  they  are  under  ^yate  management,  than  to 
needlessly  tax  the  people  of  the  State  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  for  a  new  institution  for  this  class.  In  a  real  sense 
these  private  institutions  are  now  State  institutions.  They 
have  been  authorized  and  incorporated  under  State  laws.  They 
have  been  founded  and  erected  by  Oregon  citizens.  They  are 
now  managed  and  supported  by  Oregonians;  mainly,  by  the 
free-will  offerings  of  the  humane  and  charitable.  Here  as 
in  the  case  of  the  other  classes,  the  rational  safe-guarding  of 
the  public  interest  lies  in  the  inauguration  and  maintenance  of 
adequate  State  supervision,  and  the  economical  argument  calls 
for  enlargement  and  improvement  of  existing  plants,  and  the 
increase  and  betterment  of  working  forces,  rather  than  the 
initiation  of  new  projects.  To  say  nothing  of  the  possible 
enlargement  of  capacity  of  the  institutions  for  continued  care, 
the  coming  increased  demand  for  service  can  be  met  by  one 
organization.  Give  to  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society  suffi- 
cient financial  support,  and  require  of  the  society  the  best 
type  of  modern  child-placing  in  families,  which  it  will  gladly 
guarantee,  and  this  one  organization  by  boarding-out  and  free 
home  placement  methods  can  take  care  of  all  probable  increase 
in  the  number  of  dependents  for  many  years  to  come. 

Juvenile  War  Dependents.  The  proper  care  of  juvenile  war 
dependents  is  a  sacred  obligation  resting  upon  the  people  of 
every  State  in  the  Union.  This  obligation  appeals  to  every 
right  minded  citizen,  and  it  will  be  loyally  met  by  our  people 
everywhere.  The  vitally  important  thing,  however,  is  that 
our  duty  shall  be  discharged  so  as  to  secure  both  the  interests 
and  the  happiness  of  those  mothers  and  children  who  may  need 
assistance. 

The  care  of  these  dependents  should  first  of  all  be  recog- 
nized as  a  family  problem.  The  interests  of  mothers  and  chil- 
dren ought  not  to  be  considered  separately,  save  in  the  few 
cases  where  the  mother  is  morally  or  mentally  unfit  to  care 
for  her  own  child.  The  families  of  our  nation's  defenders,  and 
of  all  those  in  government  service  in  war  matters,  should  be 
kept  together  in  all  possible  cases. 


114  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

The  American  Red  Cross  has  been  officially  designated  as 
the  national  organization  responsible  for  the  care  of  families 
or  individuals  who  become  dependent  through  the  effects  of 
the  great  war.  This  portion  of  the  work  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  has  been  named  its  home  service.  Its  responsibilities 
are  met  through  home  service  sections  which  are  a  part  of  each 
Red  Cross  Chapter.  The  work  is  under  the  direction  of  the 
Department  of  Civilian  Relief. 

Home  service  has  assumed  responsibility  for  the  welfare 
of  the  families  of  men  in  all  branches  of  the  service — the  regu- 
lar army,  the  navy,  and  all  allied  corps  of  workers;  soldiers, 
sailors,  marines,  men  of  the  aviation  corps,  engineers,  and  the 
families  of  doctors,  orderlies,  ambulance  drivers,  and  men 
and  women  attached  to  hospital  units  as  nurses;  also  of  the 
families  living  in  this  country  of  soldiers  or  sailors  of  any  of 
the  allied  forces ;  and  finally  the  families  of  civilians  who  have 
been  wounded  or  killed  as  the  direct  result  of  war  activities. 

In  carrying  on  this  work  provision  has  been  made  for  coop- 
eration with  the  various  social  and  religious  agencies  of  all 
communities.  The  Director  General  of  the  Department  of 
Civilian  Relief,  in  the  Manual  of  Home  Service,  has  issued  the 
following  instructions:  *lt  is  important  to  work  out  with 
each  church,  each  society,  each  settlement,  and  other  social 
agencies,  a  thoroughly  understood  and  agreeable  cooperation. 
The  work  of  each  should  be  joined  to  the  others  with  a  con- 
stant, sympathetic  regard  for  the  feelings  and  welfare  of  the 
families  receiving  home  service." 

This  implies  regular  and  systematically  arranged  coopera- 
tion of  the  Red  Cross  with  both  agencies  for  child-placing  in 
families  and  institutions  for  continued  care.  Some  juvenile 
war  dependents  will  be  left  without  near  relatives,  and  the 
organizations  will  be  called  upon  to  provide  for  them.  This 
should  be  done  by  use  of  family  homes  in  all  possible  cases, 
and  institutional  care  should  be  resorted  to  only  in  special  and 
abnormal  conditions. 

Placing-out  in  family  homes  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  children  of  soldiers  and  sailors  who  may  lose  their 
lives  or  be  disabled  by  the  war — first,  because  many  soldiers 
and  sailors  have  relatives  or  friends  who  stand  ready  to  give 
a  home  to  their  children  in  case  of  need;  and  second,  because 


STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE  115 

of  the  general  interest  and  good  will  of  the  people  toward  the 
defenders  of  our  country  and  their  families.  Under  such  con- 
ditions there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  finding  choice  homes  for 
war  dependents  who  are  proper  subjects  for  child-placing. 

It  is  distinctly  the  policy  of  the  Red  Cross  Department  of 
Civilian  Relief  to  minimize  the  institutional  care  of  war  depen- 
dents; but  in  special  cases  and  conditions,  notably  those  who 
are  delinquent,  mentally  defective,  crippled,  or  so  diseased  as  to 
need  hospital  treatment,  institutions  must  be  used.  But  the 
plants  of  existing  institutions  should  be  utilized  to  full  capacity 
before  erecting  additional  establishments. 

However,  it  will  be  the  policy  of  the  Red  Cross  not  to  separate 
juvenile  war  dependents  from  their  mothers  except  in  cases 
,  of  absolute  necessity.  If  there  is  a  good  mother,  ample  provi- 
sion shall  be  made  to  enable  her  to  maintain  herself  and  her 
children,  and  to  care  for  them  in  their  own  home.  Any  tem- 
porary assistance  required  will  be  furnished  by  the  Red  Cross, 
while  permanent  aid,  perhaps  full  support,  will  be  provided  by 
the  Federal  Government  in  the  form  of  insurance  and  compen- 
sation, or  by  the  State  in  the  form  of  a  ''mother's  pension,"  or 
some  form  of  "assistance  to  mothers  of  war  dependents."  * 

Tentative  State  Program.  Oregon  already  has  large  child 
welfare  resources  in  institutional  buildings,  endowments, 
agencies,  societies,  and  a  multitude  of  interested  and  devoted 
people  who  are  giving  their  time,  thought  and  money  for  the 
benefit  of  the  children  of  the  State.  What  is  most  needed 
now  is  to  coordinate  these  resources  and  bring  them  into  more 
efficient  cooperation.  The  best  way  for  this  to  be  done  is 
to  interest  all  in  something  to  be  accomplished.  The  following 
tentative  program  is  presented,  to  stimulate  interest  and 
action,  and  to  prepare  for  this  desired  union  of  forces. 

1.  State  leaders  in  child  welfare  work  should  take  effective  measures 
to  secure  the  active  union  and  cooperation  of  all  officers  and  organizations 
related  to  child  welfare — children's  aid  societies,  societies  for  the  preven- 
tion of  cruelty  to  children,  charity  organization  societies,  settlement 
centers,  day  nurseries,  women's  clubs,  parents'  and  teachers'  associations, 
child  labor  bureaus,  juvenile  courts,  public  and  private  institutions  for 
dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children,  public  school  boards  and 
teachers,  pastors  and  churches,  practical  psychologists,  dental,  medical  and 
surgical  practioners  of  all  schools.  State  and  city  bar  associations,  county 
attorneys,  the  Governor  and  other  State  officers,  and  the  members  of 
successive  Legislatures. 

•  Condensed  from  Child-placing  In  Families,  op.  cit,  pp.  188-192. 


116  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

City,  district,  and  State  conferences,  the  distribution  of  printed  matter, 
and  courses  of  lectures  and  addresses,  will  be  found  helpful  in  raising 
standards  and  in  securing  the  betterment  of  conditions. 

2.  There  should  be  hearty  support  of  the  preventive  measures  and 
agencies  mentioned  in  Section  VIII,  which  are  but  samples  of  many,  that 
are  not  named  or  discussed,  as  well  as  of  the  remedial  and  custodial 
institutions  for  dependent,  delinquent  and  defective  children. 

3.  The  social  workers  of  the  State  should  be  made  to  realize  that  the 
public  interest  will  best  be  subserved,  and  the  welfare  of  all  classes  of 
children  best  be  secured,  when  each  child-saving  organization  has  a  defi- 
nite function  and  sticks  to  it,  doing  only  the  work  it  is  specifically  organized 
to  do,  in  cordial  and  systematic  cooperation  with  all  other  agencies  and 
institutions. 

4.  A  number  of  enlargements  and  improvements  recommended  in 
various  places  in  this  report,  should  be  urgently  advocated  before  the 
authorities  and  the  Legislature,  until  they  or  their  equivalents  are 
accomplished  facts  and  are  in  actual  operation : 

a.  Multnomah  County  should  erect  at  Portland  a  new  and  modem 
Juvenile  Court  building,  with  court  rooms,  probation  offices,  medical  and 
psychological  examination  rooms,  and  ample  quarters  for  Detention  Home 
work,  adequately  segregating  the  delinquents  from  the  dependents,  as 
many  progressive  cities  of  similar  population  already  have  done. 

b.  The  State  Training  School  forfeoys  should  be  enlarged  and  improved 
by  the  addition  of  several  "cottages"  on  the  present  site,  with  other  desired 
equipment  and  an  increased  force  of  trained  workers;  or  by  removing  it 
to  a  new  site  and  erecting  for  it  a  modem  "cottage"  plant. 

c.  The  Industrial  Training  School  for  Girls  should  have  at  least  two 
new  "cottages"  at  once,  increased  equipment,  and  an  enlarged  staff  of 
trained  and  experienced  teachers  and  workers. 

d.  The  Institution  for  Feeble-minded  should  be  doubled  in  capacity 
within  five  years ;  and  it  may  be  found  advisable  to  erect  another  institu- 
tion for  this  class  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

e.  The  Schools  for  the  Deaf  and  the  Blind  should  have  increased 
resources  and  capacity,  and  enlarged  expert  faculties. 

f.  The  writer  endorses  the  suggestion  of  leading  educators  that  in  the 
selection  of  the  superintendents  for  the  State  Training  School,  the  State 
Industrial  School  for  Girls,  the  Oregon  School  for  the  Blind,  and  the 
Oregon  School  for  the  Deaf,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
should  have  an  advisory  relation,  in  order  that  the  education  in  these 
schools  shall  come  under  the  same  supervison  as  the  public  schools  of  the 
State. 

5.  The  State  should  have  a  reformatory  for  delinquent  boys  over  16 
and  adult  first  offenders  under  30  years  of  age.  This  may  be  done  by 
founding  a  new  establishment,  or  by  taking  over  the  present  plant  of  the 
Training  School  for  Boys.  In  the  latter  case  the  institution  for  the 
younger  delinquent  boys  should  be  given  a  new  site,  on  which  should  be 
erected  a  modern  "cottage"  plant. 

6.  Oregon  greatly  needs  and  at  the  earliest  possible  day  should  have  a 
Children's  Orthopedic  Hospital.  Portland  physicians  now  actively  engaged 
in  practice  among  children  suggest  that  the  institution  should  be  a  Home 
and  Training  School  for  Crippled  and  Deformed  Children  as  well  as  an 
orthopedic  hospital.  To  create  and  adequately  endow  such  an  institution 
would  be  an  ideal  way  for  some  large-hearted  Oregonian  to  honorably 
perpetuate  his  name  and  keep  his  memory  forever  green. 

7.  In  practical  child  welfare  work  there  is  a  great  lack  of  proper  social 
diagnosis  or  "case  study."  It  would  be  helpful  if  some  general  forms  or 
blanks  for  this  work  were  widely  distributed  among  the  agencies  and  insti- 
tutions; and  better  still  if  a  general  agreement  could  be  entered  into  for 
case  study  of  every  child  handled  or  received  in  an  institution. 

8.  There  is  an  equal  lack  of  adequate  records  of  child-caring  work. 
Part  of  the  trouble  can  be  remedied  by  a  State  supervisory  board  or  com- 


STATE  ACTION  PAST  AND  PROSPECTIVE  117 

missioner,  in  furnishing  forms  for  reports  and  requiring  accurate  and 
detailed  statistics.  But  this  work  covers  only  a  part  of  what  is  needed 
for  good  records;  and  there  should  be  a  definite  propaganda  for  uniform 
and  adequate  records  in  every  child-caring  organization  in  the  State. 

Prospective  Legislation.  The  laws  of  Oregon  relating  to 
children,  especially  those  concerning  dependents,  delinquents 
and  defectives,  are  involved,  chaotic,  insufficient,  and  in  some 
cases  contradictory,  as  they  are  in  many  states.  They  should 
be  simplified,  systematized  and  harmonized,  with  such  addi- 
tions as  are  necessary  to  carry  on  child  welfare  work  on 
modem  lines  and  by  modern  methods.  Two  special  lines  of 
action  are  recommended  to  meet  the  situation: 

1.  The  State  should  enact  a  general  child  welfare  law  at  its 
next  session,  covering  the  most  pressing  and  essential  matters 
relating  to  court  work,  the  care  of  dependent  and  delinquent 
children,  and  better  State  supervision  of  child  welfare  work. 
A  bill  for  such  a  law  is  presented  for  consideration  as  the 
closing  section  of  this  report. 

2.  The  State  should  create  a  special  State  Commission  to 
prepare  a  Children's  Code,  to  embody,  classify  and  systematize 
all  Oregon  laws  relating  to  children,  and  the  preventive 
measures  that  can  be  operated  under  statutes.  Ohio  com- 
pleted such  a  code  years  ago.  Minnesota  adopted  an  admirable 
code  in  1917;  Missouri  is  now  engaged  in  completing  a  code, 
after  several  years  of  study.  Other  states  are  taking  up  the 
matter.  Oregon  as  a  progressive  commonwealth  ought  to  be 
in  the  van  in  this  important  action.  As  in  other  states,  no 
doubt  able  citizens  would  gladly  serve  on  the  Commission 
without  compensation.  But  the  State  should  provide  a  small 
fund  to  cover  milage  and  other  traveling  expenses  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  work,  and  for  clerical  work  and  transcrib- 
ing of  laws  and  bills.  Also  for  printing  the  code  when  finally 
prepared.  The  Commission  should  be  given  two  years  to 
prepare  the  code,  and  it  should  be  reported  directly  to  the 
Legislature  for  approval. 


X 
A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL 

The  bill  here  presented,  in  the  main,  is  to  add  another  to  the 
many  child  welfare  laws  on  the  statute  books  of  ^Oregon,  rather 
than  to  take  the  place  of  any  essential  laws  now  in  existence. 
In  a  very  few  matters  there  may  be  a  slight  conflict  with  laws 
now  on  the  books,  but  generally  where  this  bill  touches  the 
same  subjects  it  is  to  clearly  designate  proceedings  and  rela- 
tions under  present  statutes,  and  not  to  replace  them  with  other 
and  different  procedures.  Its  main  purpose  is  to  add  several 
very  important  matters  never  heretofore  acted  upon  by  the 
Oregon  Legislature,  and  shown  by  the  preceding  pages  to  be 
desirable. 

The  Juvenile  Court  law  is  one  of  the  laws  whose  realm  is 
touched  in  this  bill,  by  paragraphs  on  commitments  and  other 
matters,  but  the  commitments  are  already  recognized  by 
statutes,  and  the  purpose  of  inclusion  here  is  to  express  and 
define  a  system  in  relation  to  dependent  and  delinquent  children. 

Guardianship  of  the  persons  of  such  children  is  already 
recognized  in  the  statutes  of  Oregon;  but  here  is  brought  out 
definitely  in  relation  to  the  classes  and  institutions  under 
consideration.  The  procedings  for  adoption  are  already  on  the 
books,  although  some  points  of  procedure  are  not  plain;  and 
here  again  certain  points  are  made  clear  about  the  adoption 
of  children  of  these  classes,  especially  those  who  are  connected 
with  the  institutions. 

The  larger  part  of  the  present  bill  is,  however,  entirely  new 
matter,  not  previously  legislated  upon  in  Oregon,  but  following 
the  lines  of  similar  provisions  in  a  number  of  the  most  progres- 
sive states.  The  main  body  of  the  bill  is  devoted  to  methods 
of  procedure  for  the  organization  and  State  approval  of  child- 
caring  agencies  and  institutions ;  the  definition  and  the  regula- 
tion of  commercial  maternity  homes ;  adequate  supervision  of 
child  welfare  work ;  and  satisfactory  records  and  annual  reports 
of  agencies  and  institutions. 

This  bill  is  not  to  make  unnecessary,  or  to  take  the  place  of 
the  proposed  Children's  Code,  but  is  merely  preliminary,  a 

118 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  119 

working  basis  to  be  included  after  suitable  revisions  in  the 
code  later  to  be  completed. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  Attorneys  M.  A.  Zollinger  and 
Clarence  H.  Gilbert,  of  Portland,  for  advice  and  assistance  on 
numerous  points  in  the  bill.  He  also  gratefully  expresses  his 
thanks  to  members  of  the  Child  Welfare  Commission  for 
suggestions  in  regard  to  the  proposed  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians  and  other  important  matters.  With  the  best 
wishes  of  its  author  for  the  splendid  State  of  Oregon,  and 
for  progress  and  improvement  in  all  of  its  child  welfare  work, 
the  bill  is  submitted  for  the  consideration  of  the  people  and 
their  representatives  in  the  Legislature. 

A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT 

For  the  care  and  protection  of  children ;  defining  child  depen- 
dency and  delinquency ;  providing  for  court  commitments 
and  guardianship  of  the  persons  of  dependent  and  delin- 
quent children;  authorizing  private  agencies  and  institu- 
tions for  the  care  of  children  of  these  classes ;  arranging 
consent  to  their  adoption;  regulating  child-placing  in 
families;  defining  and  regulating  lying-in  homes;  and 
providing  for  State  supervision,  records  and  reports  for 
such  child  welfare  work. 

Be  it  Enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Oregon: 

Section  1.  Child  dependency  shall  be  defined  as  follows : 
Sub-section  1.  Persons  of  either  sex  under  the  age  of  18 
years,  who  for  any  reason  are  destitute,  homeless,  or  aban- 
doned; or  are  dependent  upon  the  public  for  support;  or 
have  not  parental  care  of  guardianship;  or  who  are  found 
begging  or  gathering  alms ;  or  are  found  living  with  any  vicious 
or  disreputable  persons ;  or  whose  home  by  reason  of  neglect, 
cruelty,  drunkenness,  or  depravity  on  the  part  of  parents, 
guardians,  or  other  persons  in  whose  care  it  may  be,  is  an  unfit 
place  for  such  children ;  and  any  persons  under  14  years  of  age 
who  are  found  peddling  or  selling  any  article,  except  as  per- 
mitted under  special  child  labor  regulations ;  or  persons  under 
14  years  of  age  who  are  found  playing  musical  instruments 
upon  the  street  to  induce  the  giving  of  gratuities,  or  who  accom- 


120  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

pany  or  are  used  in  aid  of  adult  persons  in  so  doing,  shall  be 
classed  as  dependent  children. 

Sub-section  2.  Persons  of  either  sex  under  18  years  of  age 
whose  parents  or  guardians  neglect  or  wilfully  fail  to  provide 
for  them ;  or  allow  them  to  have  vicious  associates,  or  to  visit 
vicious  places;  or  fail  to  exercise  proper  parental  discipline 
and  control  over  them — are  classed  as  neglected  children.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  court  and  other  public  officers  to  labor  with 
the  parents  or  guardians  of  such  children,  and  if  possible  induce 
them  to  perform  their  neglected  duties.  Subsequent  to  suit- 
able efforts  to  compel  the  parents  or  guardians  to  rectify  said 
neglect,  and  in  event  of  the  failure  of  such  efforts,  neglected 
children  shall  be  classed  as  dependents. 

Section  2.  Child  delinquency  within  the  meaning  of  this 
act  shall  be  defined  as  follows:  Persons  of  either  sex  under 
the  age  of  18  years  who  violate  any  law  of  the  State,  or  any 
city  or  village  ordinance ;  or  persistently  refuse  to  obey  family 
descipline ;  or  are  persistently  truant  from  school ;  or  associate 
with  criminals  or  reputed  criminals;  or  are  growing  up  in 
idleness  and  crime ;  or  are  found  in  any  disorderly  house,  bawdy 
house,  or  house  of  ill-fame ;  or  are  guilty  of  immoral  conduct ; 
or  visit,  patronize,  or  are  found  in  any  gaming  house  or  in  any 
place  where  any  gaming  device  is  or  shall  be  operated;  are 
hereby  classed  as  delinquent  children;  and  shall  be  subject  to 
the  legal  relations  and  provisions  of  the  Juvenile  Court  law  and 
other  laws  for  the  care  and  control  of  delinquents;  provided, 
however,  that  so  far  as  possible  all  children  under  14  years  of 
age  accused  of  any  of  the  above  delinquencies,  until  a  court 
hearing  takes  place  shall  be  regarded  as  neglected  or  dependent 
children,  and  shall  not  be  arrested,  although  on  petition  they 
may  be  detained  for  their  own  and  the  community's  welfare; 
and  that  none  shall  be  classed  as  delinquent  until  their  cases 
have  been  passed  upon  and  an  appropriate  order  entered  there- 
for by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 

Section  3.  Commitments  by  competent  courts  of  the  State 
under  regular  procedure  as  required  by  law,  shall  be  defined 
as  follows : 

Sub-section  1.  Courts  of  competent  jurisdiction  upon  pro- 
ceedings as  provided  by  law,  shall  commit  dependent  or  delin- 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  121 

quent  children  to  appropriate  State  and  county  institutions,  or 
to  suitable  private  child-caring  agencies,  societies,  or  institu- 
tions, that  are  duly  and  properly  licensed  as  hereinafter  pro- 
vided. Such  commitments  of  the  courts  shall  be  of  two  kinds 
or  grades,  temporary  or  permanent;  and  each  order  shall 
definitely  specify  to  which  kind  or  grade  the  commitment 
belongs. 

Sub-section  2.  Temporary  commitments  shall  be  made 
when  the  court  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons  decides  that 
final  adjudication  of  the  case  must  be  delayed,  or  that  the 
child  or  children  involved  can  reasonably  be  expected  to  soon 
return  to  ordinary  home  conditions  in  their  own  families ;  and 
in  temporary  orders  of  commitment  guardianship  of  the  per- 
sons of  the  children  shall  remain  with  the  court,  and  children 
under  such  orders  may  be  recalled  by  the  court  for  further 
action  at  any  time. 

Sub-section  3.  Permanent  commitments  of  dependent  or 
delinquent  children  shall  include  and  bear  with  them  guardian- 
ship of  the  persons  of  such  children ;  and  the  State  or  county 
officials  or  other  persons  charged  with  the  control  and  man-, 
agement  of  the  public  institutions  to  which  the  commitments 
are  made;  or  the  responsible  trustees,  managers,  or  officers 
of  the  private  agencies,  societies,  or  institutions  to  which  the 
children  are  thus  assigned,  shall  be  accountable  for  the  per- 
sonal welfare,  guidance,  and  supervision  of  such  wards  during 
their  minority,  or  until  they  are  otherwise  disposed  of  by 
subsequent  orders  of  courts  of  competent  jurisdiction. 

Sub-section  4.  No  children  shall  be  committed  to  any 
private  child-caring  agency,  society,  or  institution,  unless  the 
same  be  duly  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  as  pro- 
vided by  statute,  and  unless  such  corporation  shall  be  duly 
licensed  'for  that  purpose  as  hereinafter  provided. 

Section  4.  The  organization  and  control  of  private  child- 
caring  agencies  and  institutions  shall  be  as  follows : 

Sub-section  1.  Agencies,  societies,  or  institutions  under 
private  management,  organized  for  the  rescue  and  temporary 
care  of  dependent  and  delinquent  children  and  the  placement 
of  such  children  in  family  homes  or  in  special  institutions ;  or 

SIK.   5 


122  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

established  as  orphanages  and  homes  to  provide  temporary 
or  continued  care  for  such  children,  shall  be  incorporated  or 
chartered  on  application  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  after  such 
application  has  been  approved  by  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians. 

Sub-section  2.  Such  private  child-caring  agencies,  societies, 
or  institutions,  shall  be  organized  by  the  association  of  not  less 
than  five  responsible  citizens  of  the  State  as  a  board  of  trustees 
or  managers,  and  the  formation  of  a  society,  corporation,  or 
institution  on  the  lines  hereinafter  designated  to  secure  the 
approval  of  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians. 

Sub-section  3.  The  approval  of  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians  of  a  proposed  child-caring  organization  shall  be 
based  upon  reasonable  and  satisfactory  assurance  upon  the 
following  points: 

a.  The  good  character  and  intentions  of  the  applicants. 

b.  The  present  and  prospective  need  of  the  service  intended 
by  the  proposed  organizations. 

c.  The  employment  of  capable,  trained  or  experienced 
workers. 

d.  Sufficient  financial  backing  to  insure  effective  work. 

e.  The  probability  of  permanence  in  the  proposed  organiza- 
tion or  institution. 

f.  That  the  methods  used  and  the  disposition  made  of  the 
children  served  will  be  in  their  best  interests  and  that  of 
society. 

g.  Wise  and  legally  drawn  articles  of  incorporation  or  insti- 
tutional charters,  and  related  by-laws. 

h.  That  in  the  judgment  of  said  State  authority  the  estab- 
lishment of  such  an  organization  is  desirable  and  for  the  public 
welfare. 

Sub-section  4.  No  private  child-caring  agency,  society,  or 
institution,  shall  receive  a  certificate  of  incorporation  or  insti- 
tutional charter  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  nor  shall  any 
proposed  or  heretofore  unincorporated  agency,  society,  or 
institution  engaged  in  child-helping  work  receive  one,  unless 
there  shall  first  be  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  State  the  com- 
mendatory certificate  in  relation  thereto  of  the  State  Board  of 
Children's  Guardians.     Any  violation  of  this  section  by  any 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  123 

attempt  to  evade  the  securing  of  such  certificate  shall  be  a  mis- 
demeanor punishable  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dol- 
lars ($100.00).  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  charge 
no  fee  for  the  examination  of  a  proposed  agency,  society,  or 
institution,  or  one  heretofore  unincorporated,  and  the  fee  for 
the  certificate  of  recommendation  shall  be  limited  to  one  dol- 
lar ($1.00)  and  the  fee  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
approval  of  the  articles  of  incorporation  or  charter  shall  not 
exceed  five  dollars  ($5.00). 

Sub-section  5.  All  child-caring  agencies,  societies,  or  insti- 
tutions legally  incorporated  or  chartered  in  this-  State  pre- 
vious to  the  passage  of  this  act,  shall  be  subject  to  all  of  its 
requirements,  except  such  as  relate  to  forms  of  organization 
and  the  obtaining  of  articles  of  incorporation  or  charters ;  and 
all  amendments  to  previously  approved  articles  of  incorporation 
or  previously  granted  charters,  shall  take  the  same  course  and 
meet  the  same  requirements  as  are  provided  in  regard  to  new 
and  original  articles  of  incorporation  or  institutional  charters. 

Sub-section  6.  All  private  agencies,  societies,  or  institu- 
tions incorporated  or  chartered  under  this  act,  or  previously 
incorporated  or  chartered  and  approved  under  this  act,  and 
engaged  in  child-caring  work,  including  the  taking  of  children 
into  guardianship,  the  placing-out  of  children  in  family  homes, 
and  the  temporary  or  long  continued  institutional  care  of 
children,  shall  obtain  annually  from  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians,  a  certificate  of  approval  authorizing  their  work, 
subject  to  the  following  regulations: 

(1)  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  use  the  eight 
points  of  excellence  enumerated  in  sub-section  3  of  this  sec- 
tion, as  the  basis  of  judgment  in  the  granting  or  withholding 
of  such  certificates. 

(2)  In  order  that  this  requirement  shall  cause  no  financial 
hardship  to  any  worthy  institution,  the  fee  to  be  paid  for  such 
certificates  to  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  be 
limited  to  one  dollar  ($1.00). 

(3)  Any  organization  engaging  in  child-caring  work  with- 
out such  certificate  of  approval  shall  be  guilty  of  a  disdemeanor, 
and  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars,  ($10.00), 
nor  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars   ($100.00),  for  each  child 


124  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

placed-out  or  made  an  inmate  of  an  institution,  during  the  time 
it  operates  without  such  certificates  of  approval,  said  fine  to 
be  assessed  by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  upon 
presentation  of  evidence  of  such  action. 

Sub-section  7.  The  provisions  of  this  act  shall  apply  to 
private  institutions  for  the  combined  care  of  adults  and 
children,  where  the  work  for  children  includes  more  or  less  of 
continued  care,  and  the  character  of  the  institution  is  charitable 
and  altruistic  and  not  for  financial  gain  or  profit. 

Sectioii  5.  Commercial  lying-in  or  maternity  homes  shall  be 
defined  and  regulated  as  follows : 

Sub-section  1.  As  used  in  this  act,  a  lying-in  or  maternity 
home  shall  be  held  to  mean  a  house  or  other  place  maintained 
and  conducted  for  the  care  and  treatment  of  women  during 
pregnacy  and  subsequent  to  the  birth  of  children  foi-  pay,  and 
usually  advertised  for  such  work  and  the  disposition  of 
unwanted  children.  Any  place  in  which  such  work  is  done, 
and  in  which  within  six  months  two  or  more  women  are  treated 
during  pregnancy,  or  after  delivery,  except  women  related  to 
the  owner  or  proprietor  of  such  place  by  blood  or  marriage,  shall 
be  accounted  a  lying-in  home. 

Sub-section  2.  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians,  shall  have 
power  to  grant  licenses  to  persons  or  organizations  to  maintain 
lying-in  homes  or  maternity  hospitals,  provided,  such  institu- 
tions are  deemed  necessary,  the  physical  and  medical  facilities 
offered  are  adequate,  and  the  personal  character  of  the  appli- 
cants warrants  expectation  of  creditable  and  efficient  service. 
No  license  for  an  institution  of  this  kind  shall  be  given  for  a 
longer  period  that  one  year,  and  the  fee  for  its  issuance  shall  be 
limited  to  one  dollar  ($1.00). 

Sub-section  3.  Institutions  of  this  class  shall  not  place-out 
children  in  private  homes  for  adoption  or  to  be  reared  as  mem- 
bers of  families,  unless  on  application  to,  and  examination  by 
the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians,  any  such  licensed  lying-in 
home  shall  also  be  considered  capable  of  doing  satisfactory 
child-placing,  and  shall  receive  a  certificate  of  approval  as  a 
child-placing  agency. 

Sub-section  4.  Any  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  act 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  125 

by  lying-in  or  maternity  homes,  or  the  establishment  of  such 
institution,  or  the  continuance  of  any  persons  in  such  business, 
without  a  license  from  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians,  shall 
be  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten 
dollars  ($10.00)  nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars  ($100.00). 
Sub-section  5.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  be 
interpreted  as  referring  to  general  or  special  hospitals  in  which 
maternity  work  is  but  a  fraction  of  the  service  rendered,  and 
the  care  of  children  only  brief  and  accidental;  nor  to  chari- 
table and  altruistic  institutions  not  operated  for  financial  gain 
or  profit,  and  whose  status  is  provided  for  in  Sub-section  7, 
Section  4,  of  this  act. 

Section  6.  Guardianship  and  consent  to  adoption  for  depen- 
dent and  delinquent  children  shall  be  held  or  given  as  follows : 

Sub-section  1.  Incorporated  private  child-caring  agencies, 
societies,  or  institutions,  duly  licensed  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  shall  be  the  guardians  of  the  persons  of  all  dependent 
or  delinquent  children  committed  to  them  through  permanent 
orders  by  courts  of  competent  jurisdiction.  They  may  retain 
such  children  in  institutional  care,  or  may  place  them  in  private 
family  homes,  either  temporarily  or  as  members  of  families; 
and  where  they  deem  such  action  proper  and  desirable,  may 
consent  in  loco  parentis  to  the  legal  adoption  of  such  wards. 

Sub-section  2.  Such  agencies,  societies,  or  institutions  may 
receive  needy  or  dependent  children  from  their  parents  or 
legal  guardians,  for  special,  temporary,  or  continued  care ;  and 
the  parents  or  guardians  may  sign  releases  or  surrenders  giving 
to  such  organizations  guardianship  and  control  of  the  persons 
of  such  children  during  the  period  of  such  care,  which  may  be 
extended  until  the  children  arrive  at  legal  age ;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  such  releases  are  understood  not  to  surrender  the 
rights  of  such  parents  or  guardians  in  respect  to  the  adoption 
of  such  children,  and  do  not  entitle  such  organizations  to  give 
consent  to  the  adoption  of  said  children;  and  that  any  entire 
severance  of  family  ties  by  adoption  or  otherwise  be  accom- 
plished only  by  the  order  of  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction; 
and  provided,  further,  that  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  present  a 
child  surrendered  to  an  agency,  society,  or  institution,  by  a 


126  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

parent  or  parents  or  a  guardian,  for  a  court  to  pass  upon  the 
adoption  of  said  child,  until  at  least  six  months  have  elapsed 
after  the  signing  of  said  surrender. 

Sub-section  3.  Parents  or  legal  guardians  of  children  whom 
they  have  by  releases  or  surrender  agreements  given  into  the 
guardianship  of  incorporated  child-caring  organizations,  subse- 
quent to  such  action  may  waive  their  right  to  personal  appear- 
ance in  court  in  matters  of  the  adoption  of  said  children,  and 
file  their  appearance  and  consent  by  a  duly  signed  and 
attested  certificate,  which  the  court  shall  recognize  as  a  valid 
basis  for  judicial  consent  in  such  cases. 

Sub-section  4.  In  the  adoption  of  a  ward  of  a  private  agency, 
society,  or  institution,  to  give  formal  consent  to  such  adoption, 
it  shall  be  required  that  such  organization  shall  file  with  the 
clerk  of  the  court  in  which  the  adoption  proceedings  are  pend- 
ing, three  documents  as  follows:  (1)  A  copy  of  an  order  of 
a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  formally  and  permanently 
assigning  the  child  to  its  guardianship,  or,  for  the  information 
of  the  court,  a  copy  of  a  written  surrender  from  a  parent  or 
parents  or  a  guardian ;  (2)  a  written  statement  showing  that 
sufficient  and  satisfactory  investigation  of  the  adopting  parties 
has  been  made,  and  recommending  them;  and  (3)  a  written 
formal  consent  by  the  organization  to  the  proposed  adoption. 

Sub-section  5.  When  foundlings  or  other  abandoned  chil- 
dren, whose  parentage  is  unknown  and  who  have  not  been 
assigned  by  a  permanent  court  order  to  any  child-caring  organ- 
ization, are  presented  for  adoption,  the  judge  having  competent 
jurisdiction  in  the  county  of  the  residence  of  the  parties  desir- 
ing to  adopt,  or  the  judge  in  the  county  where  are  located  the 
headquarters  or  institution  of  the  society  or  institution  having 
the  child  in  care,  may  record  his  consent  to  the  adoption  in 
loco  parentis. 

Sub-section  6.  The  court  consenting  to  and  consummating 
the  adoption  of  any  foundling,  abandoned,  or  illegitimate  child, 
at  his  discretion  may  require  that  all  papers  relating  to  the 
personal  history  of  such  child,  or  its  family  history  if  any  is 
of  record,  be  sealed  and  filed  in  the  county  archives,  to  be 
unsealed  only  on  judicial  order. 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  127 

Section  7.  Child-placing  in  families  in  the  State  of  Oregon 
shall  be  regulated  as  follows : 

Sub-section  1.  Child-caring  agencies,  societies,  or  institu- 
tions, in  placing-out  wards  or  other  dependent  or  delinquent 
children  in  private  families,  shall  safeguard  their  welfare  by 
the  thorough  investigation  of  each  applicant  and  his  home  and 
its  environment;  shall  carefully  select  the  child  to  suit  the 
new  relationship  and  location;  and  shall  personally  and  ade- 
quately supervise  each  home  and  child  until  the  latter  returns 
to  the  direct  care  of  the  organization,  or  if  permanently  placed 
receives  legal  adoption  or  attains  legal  age. 

Sub-section  2.  All  children  placed-out  in  private  families, 
shall  be,  so  far  as  it  is  practicable,  located  with  those  of  the 
same  religious  faith  as  that  held  by  the  children  themselves, 
or  their  parents. 

Sub-section  3.  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  may  at 
its  option  require  any  child-caring  agency,  society,  or  institu- 
tion, to  divulge  the  locations  and  relationships  of  any  or  all  of 
its  placed-out  children ;  and  these  may  be  visited  by  the  Board's 
members  or  agents  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  such  children, 
or  the  quality  of  the  child-placing  work  done;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  location  and  relationships  of  placed-out  children 
shall  be  confidentially  held  by  the  board  and  its  agents,  and 
only  revealed  when  the  welfare  of  the  children  requires  such 
action,  on  order  of  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 

Sub-section  4.  Private  individuals,  including  midwives, 
physicians,  nurses,  hospital  officials,  and  all  officers  of  unau- 
thorized institutions,  are  forbidden  to  engage  in  child-placing 
work;  except  that  relatives  of  the  first  and  second  degrees 
may  thus  provide  for  children  of  their  own  blood;  and  viola- 
tions of  this  restriction  shall  be  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not 
less  than  ten  dollars  ($10.00)  nor  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars 
($100.00)  for  each  offense. 

Sub-section  5.  No  person  or  agent,  or  agency  or  institution, 
of  another  State  shall  place  a  child  in  a  family  home  in  this 
State  without  first  having  furnished  to  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians  such  guarantee  as  the  board  may  require,  against 
disease,  deformity,  feeble-mindedness,  and  delinquency,  and 
against  the  child  becoming  a  public  charge  within  five  (5)  years 


128  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

from  the  date  of  such  placement.  Any  person  or  organization 
violating  this  provision  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and 
shall  be  punishable  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars, 
($100.00)  for  each  offense. 

Section  8.  Adequate  supervision  of  child  welfare  work  in 
Oregon  shall  be  secured  by  the  following  provisions : 

Sub-section  1.  There  shall  be  a  State  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians,  consisting  of  seven  (7)  members,  with  full  powers 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  constituted  as 
follows : 

The  Governor  of  the  State,  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  State 
Treasurer,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Inspection  of  Child  Labor  at 
Portland,  shall  be  members  of  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians  ex  officio. 

One  member  of  the  board  shall  be  a  member  of  the  faculty 
of  the  University  of  Oregon,  to  be  selected  at  the  beginning 
of  each  biennial  period  by  the  President  of  the  University ;  and 
such  appointee  shall  be  an  expert  in  psychology  or  sociology. 

One  member  of  the  board  shall  be  a  physician,  to  be  selected 
at  the  beginning  of  each  biennial  period  by  the  President  of 
the  State  Medical  Association;  and  such  appointee  shall  be  a 
specialist  in  child  hygiene  or  in  children's  diseases. 

In  case  of  vacancies  occurring  in  the  appointive  membership 
of  the  board,  new  appointments  shall  be  made  by  the  same 
officers  for  the  remainder  of  the  biennial  term;  and  all 
appointees  shall  be  eligible  for  successive  appointments. 

Sub-section  2.  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall 
serve  without  compensation,  save  traveling  and  other  necessary 
expenses  when  actually  on  duty  as  members  of  the  board. 

Sub-section  3.  The  board  shall  hold  meetings  quarterly  for 
the  transaction  of  business,  and  may  hold  special  meetings  as 
the  necessities  of  the  State  work  require.  At  any  meeting  four 
members  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

Sub-section  4.  The  board  shall  appoint  a  secretary,  who 
shall  be  its  executive  officer.  The  secretary  shall  be  a  trained 
social  worker,  shall  devote  his  or  her  entire  time  to  the  work, 
and  shall  receive  a  salary  of  not  less  than  two  thusand  dollars 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  129 

($2,000.00)  a  year;  and  shall  be  allowed  such  assistants  as  are 
necessary  for  the  efficient  performance  of  the  duties  of  the 
office. 

Sub-section  5.  Offices  for  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians 
shall  be  provided  by  the  State,  in  one  of  the  State  buildings. 

Sub-section  6.  For  the  biennial  period  beginning  January 
1,  1919,  there  shall  be  set  aside  from  any  funds  of  the  State 
not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars 
($6,000.00)  to  cover  the  expenses  of  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians  during  this  period ;  which  sum  shall  be  drawn  upon 
from  time  to  time  in  the  usual  manner. 

Sub-section  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians,  by  its  members  or  agents,  to  inspect  and  supervise 
all  of  the  child-caring  agencies,  societies,  or  institutions,  public 
or  private,  within  the  State.  The  board  is  hereby  given  right 
of  entrance,  privilege  of  inspection,  and  access  to  all  accounts 
and  records  of  work  and  children,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing the  kind  and  quality  of  work  done,  and  to  obtain  a  proper 
basis  for  its  decisions  and  recommendations.  Any  violation  of 
the  rights  given  in  this  sub-section  shall  be  a  misdemeanor, 
punishable  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars 
($100.00) 

Sub-section  8.  Inspection  and  visitation  of  child-caring 
organizations  by  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  be 
made  at  unexpected  times  with  irregular  intervals  between 
visits,  and  without  previous  notice  to  the  agency,  society,  or 
institution  visited.  In  addition  to  such  official  inspection, 
many  other  informal  visits  should  be  made. 

The  board  and  its  agents  shall  advise  agency  and  institution 
officers  and  workers  in  regard  to  approved  methods  of  child 
care,  best  types  of  housing  and  equipment,  and  adequate 
records  of  agency  and  institutional  work.  The  principal  pur- 
pose of  such  visitation  shall  be  to  offer  friendly  counsel  and 
assistance  on  child  welfare  problems,  and  advice  on  progressive 
methods  and  improvement  of  the  service. 

Sub-section  9.  If  any  flagrant  abuses,  derelictions,  or 
deficiencies  are  made  known  to  the  members  of  the  board  or 
its  agents  during  their  inspection  of  any  child-caring  agency 
or  institution,  or  at  any  time  are  reported  to  the  board  by  at 


130  CHILD  WELFARE  WORK  IN  OREGON 

least  two  reputable  citizens,  the  board  shall  at  once  carefully 
investigate  the  reports  or  rumors,  and  take  such  action  as 
the  matters  require. 

Sub-section  10.  If  any  serious  abuses,  derelictions,  or  defi- 
ciencies are  found  in  any  State  child-caring  institution,  they 
shall  be  reported  at  once  in  writing  to  the  State  Board  of 
Control ;  if  found  in  any  other  public  institution,  they  shall  be 
reported  in  like  manner  to  the  proper  authority  or  governing 
board;  and  if  such  abuses  are  not  corrected  in  a  reasonable 
time,  the  same  shall  be  reported  in  writing  to  the  next  session 
of  the  Legislature. 

Sub-section  11.  If  any  such  abuses,  derelictions,  or  defi- 
ciencies are  found  in  any  private  child-caring  agency  or  institu- 
tion, such  shall  be  brought  at  once  to  the  attention  of  its 
trustees  or  board  of  management;  and  if  not  corrected  in  a 
reasonable  time,  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall 
suspend  or  revoke  the  license  of  such  agency  or  institution. 

Section  9.  Annual  and  biennial  reports  shall  be  made  by 
agencies  and  institutions,  and  by  the  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians,  as  follows: 

Sub-section  1.  Each  public  or  private  child-caring  agency  or 
institution  within  the  State  shall  make  an  annual  report  of  its 
work  to  the  Board  of  Children's  Guardians,  in  such  form  and 
detail  as  the  board  shall  prescribe.  These  reports  shall  include 
detailed  statistics  of  all  children  served,  financial  statements 
of  the  expense  of  their  care,  the  number  and  kind  of  workers 
employed,  the  value  and  condition  of  the  plant  owned  or  used, 
the  amount  of  endowment  or  invested  funds,  and  any  other 
essential  matters  that  may  be  indicated  by  the  requirements 
of  the  board. 

Sub-section  2.  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  pre- 
pare and  supply  to  the  various  child-caring  agencies  and  insti- 
tutions the  necessary  printed  blanks  to  record  the  desired 
information.  All  institutions  or  agencies  included  within  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  shall  conform  their  records  to  the 
statutory  fiscal  year  of  the  State,  and  make  their  annual  reports 
for  years  ending  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  each  September.  All 
annual  reports  required  of  agencies  and  institutions  must  be 


A  GENERAL  CHILD  WELFARE  BILL  131 

filed  with  said  board  not  later  than  October  fifteenth  of  each 
year. 

Sub-section  3.  The  Board  of  Children's  Guardians  shall  from 
the  reports  of  its  members,  inspectors,  and  visitors,  and  from 
the  annual  reports  of  the  various  agencies  and  institutions, 
prepare  a  comprehensive  biennial  report  of  child  welfare  work 
within  the  State,  accompanied  by  special  comments  and  recom- 
mendations; and  such  report  shall  be  published  at  State 
expense  for  the  information  of  the  Legislature  and  for 
distribution  among  the  people. 

Section  10.  It  is  further  enacted  that  all  laws  or  parts  of 
laws,  or  provisions  of  laws,  heretofore  enacted  by  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  that  conflict  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  are  hereby  repealed. 

Section  11.  It  is  hereby  adjudged  and  declared  that  existing 
conditions  in  the  State  of  Oregon  are  such  that  this  act  is 
necessary  for  the  public  welfare ;  and  an  emergency  is  hereby 
declared  to  exist,  and  the  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  full 
force  and  effect  from  and  after  its  approval  by  the  Governor. 


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